Patient in Noble County tests positive for COVID-19

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- A patient in Noble County, Indiana, has tested positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus), according to Parkview Health.

The presumptive positive result is through Indiana State Department of Health testing. A sample is being sent to the Centers for Disease Control for confirmation.

The patient is in isolation at Parkview Noble Hospital. The patient had recently traveled out of state.

“The patient is being quarantined in isolation and the health department is actively monitoring people with whom they may have had close contact,” said Terry Gaff, MD, health officer at the Noble County Department of Health. “Out of respect for their privacy, no other details on the patient will be released.”

Health officials say the patient went to the First Care Walk in Clinic in Kendallville on March 1 and the location in Fort Wayne on March 5. Both clinics were closed Monday for deep cleaning.

Representative Jim Banks, R-District 3, released a statement about the new case.

“Our office has become aware that an individual at Parkview Noble Hospital has been diagnosed with COVID-19. We’ve also learned that the East Noble School Corporation learned of the development and notified families and staff this morning that the infected individual does not have school age children. As such, my office reached out to Parkview Health, the Noble County Health Department and East Noble School Corporation. We’ve requested regular updates on the new coronavirus case and offered any assistance our office can provide.”

The Noble County case is the fourth coronavirus case in Indiana. There are two patients in Hendricks County and one in Marion County.