St. Joseph County

City and county leaders in St. Joseph County are expressing concern about the state's moving to Stage 5.

Today St. Joseph County Health Department officials in South Bend released a new order indicating that the county's face mask mandate that has been in place for months will be extended through the end of 2020. The previous order was due to expire Sept. 7. 

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana woman has filed a lawsuit against the distributor of a recalled hand sanitizer alleging her children had severe side effects. The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in St. Joseph County, seeks penalties. The lawsuit names 4e Brands North America, a Texas distributor of Blumen hand sanitizer, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found contains toxic methanol. The company issued a voluntary recall in July. The lawsuit seeks class action status. The company didn't return a message Sunday seeking comment.

On August 24th, St. Joseph County recorded 154 new COVID-19 cases. This is the second highest daily case count for the county, surpassed only by Aug. 20th when 177 new cases were recorded. This spike in numbers is a result of the testing at Notre Dame now being reflected in the state data. The spike to some extent syncs up with the timing of when ND moved to online instruction due to the coronavirus outbreaks within the university community. 

On Thurs., Aug. 13th St. Joseph County reported more new COVID-19 cases than on any other day of the pandemic so far based on data from the Indiana State Dept. of Health. 86 cases were reported. 

The stats were released an hour before South Bend and county officials held a news conference to discuss the pandemic. Dr. Mark Fox with the health department indicated his concern now that college students are back about off campus social activity being a big risk factor. 

South Bend Mayor James Mueller echoed his comments from two weeks ago that there is "still no margin for error." 

Mueller indicated he would like to see an enforcement mechanism on the table in the county when it comes to wearing face masks.

There was also talk at the news conference about the possibility of regressing to a previous stage in Indiana's "Back on Track" plan if COVID-19 conditions worsen in the county. Local officials can make that call.

"What we're doing isn't working," Mueller said.

Mueller also lamented the fact that Indiana Gov. Holcomb's face mask order has no enforcement component. 

NEW (Posted Aug. 10):

ISDH will host two free testing sites in Elkhart County Tuesday (Aug. 11) through Saturday (Aug. 15) of this week:

The Penn Harris Madison School Corporation is planning to start school with an online only option after consulting with local health officials. The earliest the school would consider returning to offering an in-person instruction option is Oct. 27. 

The PHM School Board will vote on this next week. 

THE LATEST: Based on the latest figures released by the Indiana State Dept. of Health, on July 16th, St. Joseph County saw its highest number of new daily COVID-19 cases yet. The county reported 68 new cases on Thursday. 

This week in a four-day time span from July 12-July 16, the county has logged three of its highest daily case counts since the pandemic began. On July 12 there were 63 new cases and on July 14 there were 58 new cases. 

Dr. Mark Fox with the St. Joe Co. Health Dept. says he attributes some of the rise to large gatherings and the State of Indiana moving to Stage 4.5 in reopening. He says he is thankful the state paused and did not move to Stage 5. He says two new testing sites have been set up at St. Adalbert and at WUBS. "This is a very worrisome trend for the county," he adds. 

"What a difference two weeks makes," says Mayor James Mueller of South Bend.

NEW:

Indiana State Police have released the name of the ITRCC maintenance worker who was struck and killed while working on the side of the Indiana Toll Road.  He is identified as Ronald Smith, 61, of Edwardsburg, Michigan.

ORIGINAL POST:  

Indiana State Police are investigating a crash that killed an Indiana Toll Road worker. 

(You can read the ISP release below.) 

St. Joseph County- This afternoon an Indiana Toll Road maintenance worker was struck and killed while performing work outside of his vehicle.

Heading into the July 4th weekend, the St. Joseph Co. Health Dept. has announced that West Nile has been detected in Mishawaka.

(You can learn more about it below.) 

St. Joseph County Health Officer, Dr. Robert Einterz, announced the St. Joseph County Department of Health has identified a pool of West Nile Virus positive mosquitoes in eastern Mishawaka. St. Joseph County is one of 2 counties in Indiana where mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus have been found this year to date. There have not been any human cases of West Nile Virus in Indiana this year to date.

Monday the St. Joseph County Health Department in Indiana announced an extension of the county's face mask order.

NEW:

The St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office has released the names of the men who died.

UPDATE:

The Michigan Attorney General's office has announced that charges have been filed against St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough. McDonough initially tried to explain that he was having a "coughing fit" while driving and it caused him to crash into a fence this spring. 

St. Joseph Co. Sheriff William Redman says his department captured a man wanted for murder out of Holland, Michigan. The Associated Press is reporting that the body of a 52-year-old woman has been found in a western Michigan hotel room. The Ottawa County sheriff’s office says deputies were called to the Holland Township hotel about 1:45 a.m. Thursday after a relative of the victim expressed concern to authorities about her well-being. Authorities learned the Holland woman was last seen at the hotel.

The Indiana State Department of Health reported 31 additional confirmed deaths on Thursday, bringing the state’s total to 1,295. The state announced more than 22,500 total confirmed cases, with nearly 125,000 Hoosiers tested.

The Indiana State Department of Health reported 62 additional confirmed deaths on Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 1,213. The state announced more than 21,000 total confirmed cases, with more than 115,000 Hoosiers tested.

St. Joseph County health officials report that a death has occurred at the Motel 6 in Roseland that is being used to isolate homeless individuals with COVID-19.

(Read the full press release from the St. Joseph Co. Health Dept. posted below.)

St. Joseph County- The City of South Bend and St. Joseph County Department of Health are confirming that a guest at the Isolation Quarantine Center (IQC), located at the Motel 6 on N. Dixie Way, was found deceased today.

St. Joseph County Health Officer, Robert Einterz, MD, issued a Public Health Order Sunday night.

The St. Joseph County, Indiana Health Department released new data Friday on the breakdown of COVID-19 among different demographics.

Health officials with the St. Joe County Health Dept. in South Bend issued new information about total deaths and cases, including revelations about the extent of an outbreak at one long-term care facility. 

NEW (Posted Apr. 15 at 5:10pm):

New information from the St. Joseph County Health Dept. indicates that as of today, the county’s total number of confirmed cases is at 294. County health officials are also confirming a sixth death related to COVID-19 infection. The patient, a female in her fifties, had several co-morbidities.

PREVIOUS POST:

St. Joseph County Health Department officials released new information Tuesday afternoon on the presence of COVID-19 in the county. A fifth person has died and there is an uptick in cases, higher than the county figures reported out by the IN State Dept. of Health Tuesday morning. 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — The St. Joseph County Prosecutor has asked a judge to approve a special investigation into a murder case after the defendant alleged investigators lied about details under oath.

Kyle Doroszko was charged with murder in the 2019 fatal shooting of 18-year-old Traychon Taylor in South Bend, Indiana.

Prosecutors say the shooting happened while Taylor attempted to rob Doroszko while he was selling him marijuana.

UPDATE:

The St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office released new information following a deadly weekend shooting that occurred while a group was doing target practice.

The South Bend Mayor's office has announced the appointment of a COVID-19 Response Coordinator for the city and for St. Joseph County.