Governor: Indiana will remain at Stage 4.5 for at least 2 more weeks

Written by: Brenda McLane
Governor Eric Holcomb will be signing an executive order to keep Indiana at Stage 4.5 for at least the next two weeks, citing the volatility of the virus in Indiana, across the country and around the world. For the second week in a row Indiana’s positivity rate has increased.
This week brought 4,300 new cases and just a month ago, Indiana recorded 3,000 cases. The broader spread of the virus is limiting the ability of Indiana and all states to get enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
The governor made it a point to say that schools, churches, and the like “will look different through the foreseeable future.”
While Indiana is leaving the mask mandate in local county control, Holcomb is not ruling out a future statewide mask mandate. His team will continue to monitor the numbers and make those decisions as needed.
An announcement was made to provide housing stability with assistance to renters in 91 counties. Marion County received its own funds and is administering their own program. Indiana’s application portal opened July 13 and within the first 48 hours they received more than 11,000 applications from Hoosiers. Those interested in seeing if they qualify for this assistance can visit www.indianahousingnow.org.
The governor stated his taskforce is working with schools daily to assure students can return to class ‘when and where’ it is safe. They have ordered 3 million masks for students and financial resources have been made available to schools through the CARES act funding, FEMA and State of Indiana funds.
Governor Holcomb and Indiana’s State Health Commissioner, Dr. Kristina Box, were also complimentary of the plans being created by Indiana’s public and private institutions of higher ed and the collaboration happening between the colleges and local mayors. They are making plans to assure that when students leave campus to visit local businesses there are safeguards in place to protect everyone. One example cited was that everyone may need to be seated at bars instead of gathering in standing groups to continue to keep the virus in check.
When asked about the new federal mandate for hospitals to report data to the Department of Homeland Security instead of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Box said Indiana had been a co-recipient of the data going to the CDC and they have already requested the same relationship with DHS.