Wednesday Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced that the state will no longer remain at Stage 5 in the reopening plan put in place during the pandemic.
He says this is happening because when the state went to Stage 5 the positivity rate was 3.9%. Indiana is currently at 10.3%. Holcomb says that "too many of us let our guard down."
Beginning Nov. 15 and for the next month Holcomb will sign an executive order fortargetted restrictions for counties in the orange and red status. All of the WVPE listening area counties are in those colors.
He also says hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients are expected to double over the next several weeks and currently hospitalizations are at a record high. He says Indiana is averaging 210 new COVID patients a day. He also expressed concerns about hospital staffing shortages.
Counties in orange will be limited to social gatherings of 50. Counties in red will be limited to 25. He says attendance at school events in counties in red or orange will also have to be limited, including high school sporting events. However, Holomb says churches will be exempted. Dr. Kris Box points out though that contact tracing shows spikes after Sunday gatherings. She also says Indiana has doubled COVID-19 cases every week for four weeks now. Dr. Box also says she is concerned about college students coming home for the semester at Thanksgiving and potentially further spreading the virus.
Here are restrictions for counties in orange:
For counties in red, the following restrictions will be in place:
