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.
(Below is more data from the Indiana dashboard as it relates to St. Joseph County. Statewide data and other county-by-county stats are available at https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/)
