By The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s daily average of coronavirus-related deaths has more than doubled in less than a month as the state’s tally of new coronavirus infections and hospitalizations have grown quickly during that time.

The state health department’s Monday update showed Indiana’s seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths reached 19 as of Friday.

That is up from an average of nine deaths on Sept. 22, just before Gov. Eric Holcomb lifted nearly all of Indiana’s coronavirus restrictions on businesses and crowd sizes. The last time the deaths average was at least 19 a day was in early June after peaking at 42 in late April.

The health department added 23 deaths on Monday to Indiana’s toll, with some dating back to Sept. 17. Indiana’s total death toll has grown to 3,960, including confirmed and presumed coronavirus infections. The 24 deaths reported so far for Friday is the state’s highest one-day COVID-19 fatality total since early June.

Indiana’s seven-day rolling average of newly confirmed COVID-19 infections reached 1,807 as of Sunday. That is the highest level the state has seen during the pandemic and has more than doubled since late September. Hospitalizations for coronavirus illnesses have about gone up about two-thirds since then.