Hamilton County prepares for new round of COVID-19 restrictions
NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — New COVID-19 restrictions are coming to Hamilton County beginning Wednesday, but many establishments are in the clear for now.
Health officials said the changes to the public health order reflect where community spread is most happening, and the climb in cases doesn’t point to businesses.
Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Christian Walker said what people are doing outside of work and school is causing issues.
“It’s still the weddings, the family gatherings, things of those nature where it’s occurring at most,” Walker said.
The county falls under orange on the state’s map, which means community spread is moderate to high.
Beginning Wednesday, social gatherings of more than 250 people will not be approved and attendance at games and tournaments will be limited to 250 people. That includes participants, personnel and spectators.
Walker said the updated health order also spells out what will happen if the county moves to red, a line he said it’s close to crossing.
“They know what’s coming and what to plan for so if we change it the following Wednesday, they already know what measures to implement,” Walker said.
If the county moves to red, social gatherings and sporting events would go down to 100 people. Restaurants, bars and nightclubs would move to 50% capacity. Those establishments would also have to close by midnight and until at least 5 a.m. for cleaning.
Bar tops would be closed and tables limited to six people with tables spaced 6 feet apart.
Finally, gyms and entertainment venues would also go back to half capacity.
Meanwhile, the county is looking toward the future. On Monday, Walker showed News 8 a new mobile trailer that would be used for vaccinations and testing.
While he doesn’t know for sure when the vaccination will come, he says the progress Pfizer is showing leads him to believe it will happen fast.
“We’re stuck in the bureaucratic stage of this but it sounds like the logistics are ready to be fired out the cannon and we’re gonna be speeding through this quickly,” Walker said.
He said when the vaccination is available, it will be distributed in three stages. It will first go to hospitals, then government agencies and other essential workers including the police, and finally to the community.
Walker said three local hospitals have already been chosen to receive the vaccine but he could not say which ones.
On Monday, the Indiana State Department of Health reported 5,606 more Hoosiers have tested positive for the coronavirus. A total of 300,913 Hoosiers have tested positive. Also, the state said Monday, 27 more Hoosiers have died, bringing the state’s death toll to 5,067.