Indiana’s Governor, Eric Holcomb, has continued the pause at stage 4.5 of the State’s re-opening plan. The 4.5 restrictions will remain in effect at least through the end of July. That continues the restrictions on the allowed capacity for restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, and crowd sizes.
The Governor also announced changes for the gatherings of groups of people. Under the changed restrictions, organizers of group gatherings of up to 250 people, the maximum allowed by the plan, will be required to submit a written plan to the local health department outlining steps to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. The change applies to seasonal or special events such as fairs, festivals, parades, graduations, outdoor concerts, outdoor movies, (other than drive-ins), family reunions, conferences, and weddings. The group plans must address capacity limits, guest information, staff and volunteer screening, social distancing measures, increased sanitation, face coverings, and the ways to assure compliance.
Governor Holcomb and Dr. Kristina Box, the commissioner of the Indiana Health Department, said the reason for the reason for the changes are the increase in the State’s positivity rate for the virus, and the lack of supplies to do the testing for the coronavirus.
The surge of COVID-19 in states like Florida and Texas has but a strain on testing supplies throughout the country. And Dr. Box says she is concerned about the positivity rate, which has shown a steady increase since Indiana hit a low on June 18. Box said most new COVID-19 cases are appearing in younger people in the 20-30 age group. While Box says this group does not tend to get as sick from the coronavirus, the group does tend to infect the older population.
