pandemic

Monday the St. Joseph County Health Department in Indiana announced an extension of the county's face mask order.

The Indiana State Department of Health reported 33 additional confirmed deaths over the weekend, bringing the state’s total to 2,427. The state announced nearly 45,000 total confirmed cases, with more than 470,000 Hoosiers tested.

The Indiana Women’s Prison has taken hard measures to contain the coronavirus. Many inmates in the prison have spent long periods locked in their cells — which have no toilets, running water or air conditioning — with limited opportunities for relief. 

As temperatures rise over the summer months, advocates and those with loved ones inside certain housing units, known as the cottages, worry about the heat and long periods of confinement. They fear it could cause health problems for the inmates, and say that the treatment amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. 

The Indiana State Department of Health reported 17 additional confirmed deaths since Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 2,394. The state announced more than 43,000 total confirmed cases, with more than 444,000 Hoosiers tested.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Nearly a third more Indiana workers filed initial unemployment claims last week compared to the previous week. The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of new claims totaled 31,885 during the week of June 20, compared to an adjusted number of 24,017 the week before, the department reported. That’s an increase of 7,868. Indianapolis Business Journal reports that before the coronavirus pandemic, Indiana typically saw fewer than 3,000 initial unemployment claims per week.

The Marshall County Blueberry Festival has been canceled for 2020. 

(Below you can read the organization's post from their website.)

While the Board of Director and our Volunteers have certainly worked diligently to put on our event, we have reached the point where we needed to make a final decision that it is not possible for us to be confident that we can realistically meet all the Governor Holcomb's requirements in the reopening of Indiana.

NEW:

According to the latest figures released by the Indiana State Dept. of Health on Wed., June 24 Elkhart County saw a day that tied its second highest yet for new COVID-19 cases. The county reported 101 new cases. That ties the case count on June 12.  June 17 remains the day the county saw its highest case count yet, with 112 new cases on that day. 

The Indiana State Department of Health reported 27 additional confirmed deaths since Sunday, bringing the state’s total to 2,377. The state announced nearly 43,000 total confirmed cases, with more than 426,000 Hoosiers tested.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nonpartisan commission that sponsors presidential debates says a debate that had been scheduled to be held in Michigan will now take place in Florida. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Tuesday that that Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami will host the debate originally set for the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The commission says the university concluded it is no longer "feasible" to host the debate.

It’s safe to say there have been other things on Hoosiers’ minds than the environment these days. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only affected the health of Indiana residents, but also jobs and local economies. Meanwhile, people across the country are protesting acts of violence by police officers against black men and women. 

The Indiana State Department of Health reported 23 additional confirmed deaths over the weekend, bringing the state’s total to 2,350. The state announced more than 42,000 total confirmed cases, with nearly 412,000 Hoosiers tested.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — The University of Notre Dame is projecting a more than $100 million revenue shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year in part because of the coronavirus outbreak. In a letter sent to Notre Dame staff, faculty and students last week, university President the Rev. John Jenkins and other top administrators cited “financial aid expenditures, flat endowment payout, lower auxiliary revenue and projected lower levels of philanthropy” during the fiscal year that begins July 1.

More than 50 workers at a farm in Coldwater are under quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19.

DETROIT (AP) — A federal judge has thrown down the yoga mat and said gyms and fitness centers can reopen next week in Michigan. Judge Paul Maloney says Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration had failed to show any rational link between the coronavirus threat and the business shutdown. Maloney noted that gyms are closed while restaurants, bars, barbershops and hair salons are back in business. Whitmer plans to appeal. The governor had planned to reopen gyms, movie theaters and bowling alleys by July 4 if coronavirus case trends remain favorable.

The Berrien County Youth Fair has posted a letter to its website indicating that the fair will not occur this summer. 

An image of the letter from the fair's website is below. 

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has extended Michigan's coronavirus emergency declaration until July 16. That enablers the Democratic governor to keep intact restrictions and orders that remain after she lifted a stay-at-home policy. Whitmer has been gradually reopening the state. She hopes to let gyms, movie theaters and bowling alleys reopen by July 4. They currently are operating only in northern Michigan.

Indiana fiscal officials expect the state to fall between $3 to 4 billion short of its current two-year state budget.

The spread of COVID-19 seems to be slowing down in Indiana – that’s according to the latest results in a statewide study of the virus, led by the Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI.