Coronavirus updates: Indiana extends Stage 4.5 reopening plan through Aug. 27
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Gov. Eric Holcomb on Wednesday announced the state will continue in its Stage 4.5 reopening plan during the COVID-19 pandemic through at least Aug. 27.
Local governments can make more stringent guidelines, and the state will support those efforts, Holcomb said.
The state also has a mask mandate until further notice.
“Our persistent high positivity ticking up in different parts of our state has caused us to say we’re going to remain here through Aug. 27 as it stands right now,” he said.
The state’s seven-day average positivity rate has increased from the lowest point, 4.5% on June 18, to 6.5% on July 4 and 6.8% on July 21. Positivity rates by county will be added next weekend to the state’s dashboard so people can track it. Currently, four Indiana counties — Debois, Franklin, Martin, Tipton — have positivity rates of more than 15%, according to a map displayed at Wednesday’s coronavirus briefing.
The goal is to identify counties with the highest rates and send resources to those localities, said Dr. Kristine Box, who heads the Indiana Department of Health.
“What I’m reminded of on a daily basis is this virus will take what we give it,” the governor added.
The total number of coronavirus tests given and recorded so far in Indiana is 724,238. Box said, “As you’ve all seen lately, the number of daily positive tests being reported has increased. Today, we reported 630 additional COVID-19 cases in Indiana, which brings us to a total of 64,299, the total number of Hoosiers known to have had COVID. Over this last week, we’ve seen more than 6,400 new positive cases. That’s roughly 10% of all the cases identified since the beginning of March.”
Indiana’s death toll from COVID-19 stands at 2,733. The nation’s death toll from the coronavirus hit 150,000 on Wednesday, by the far the highest in the world, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
The state has more than 200 sites for free coronavirus testing. A contract with a provider of tests, Optum, has been extended through August, Box said.
Turnaround times for testing have increased in recent days as Indiana changed labs being used to process tests, the commissioner said. The current turnaround time is at about 42 hours, with 75% completed in under 48 hours.
Moratorium on evictions, foreclosures, utility shutoffs extended to Aug. 14
Also during the Wednesday’s coronavirus briefing, the state announced the moratorium on evictions from rental properties and the prohibition on filing foreclosures will be extended through Aug. 14. That’s the same date the state has put a restriction on utilities’ ability to disconnect service for nonpayment.
On March 19, Holcomb first used an executive order to prohibit rental evictions and housing foreclosures during the public health emergency for the pandemic. On April 1, Holcomb extended the initial order to protect renters through June 30. The latest extension of the moratorium was set to expire Saturday.
In the next two weeks, the governor said, people should start seeking help and making payment plans.
If needed, the state may create more ways to assist renters and homeowners at risk, and announcements of additional programs could come next week, Holcomb said.
Holcomb’s action Wednesday came after a day after three landlords filed a lawsuit against him and other state officials over the moratorium on rental evictions. The landlords called the moratorium, issued through an order from the governor, unconstitutional.
The governor said the lawsuit will not affect his decisions. “We’ll follow up on our own convictions. I won’t live under the threat of a lawsuit. We feel very comfortable about where we are right now and where we can go under the law.”
Hoosiers in all counties but Marion County who are struggling to pay rent due to the impact of COVID-19 can apply online for possible rental assistance. Applications for $25 million in the Indiana COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program have been accepted online since July 13 at IndianaHousingNow.org.
“I will confirm that we will contemplate and have, or will find the resources” to allocate more money for rental assistance if needed,” Holcomb said.
In Marion County, a rental assistance program was set up with $15 million from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, but the program’s overwhelming popularity led to its shutdown. The program’s website, indyrent.org, shows the program did not reopen as planned this week. People can call 317-912-1260 for more information.
Indiana homeowners who have fallen behind on mortgage payments or cannot make future payments can get help from the Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network at 877gethope.org or by calling 877-285-0401.
Also, the deadline is Friday to apply for help to pay heat and electric bills. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is only available one time, and won’t cover entire bills. There are maximum-income restrictions based on the number of people in a household. Apply at eap.ihcda.in.gov or by calling 211.
Contact tracing
Box said more than 77% of positive cases in June were successfully contacted, which means they agreed to talk to the contact tracer or said they did not wish to participate. From July 1-20, nearly 80% of cases were successfully contacted.
“These are good percentages compared to what I’m hearing from other states,” she said, but the percentages also show about 20% are not responding to contact tracers, and likely not taking steps to protect themselves, their friends and their family members who might have also been exposed to the coronavirus.
“We’ve been able to mitigate the spread of COVID in a number of situations here in Indiana because people have cooperated with our contact tracers,” Box said.
She noted a staffer who tested positive at a church camp in southern Indiana. Contact tracers worked with the staffer, and testing later identified the coronavirus in 40 of the 50 camp staffers, who were from at least eight states. As a result, the staffers quarantined or were isolated at the church camp. The campers were kept away from the staffers, helping to stop the spread of the infection, Box said.
At least 11 cases have been traced to two bachelor parties in southwestern Indiana. “We suspect that there may have been more because people refused to name close contacts for many of those parties.”
Also, 60 people were exposed to the coronavirus after an Indiana prom, the state health commissioner said.
Indiana has seen at least 75 additional cases of virus spread traced to camps, family reunions, church events, graduation parties, bachelor parties and weddings, Box said.
“These are all real-world examples and allowed us to pinpoint the source of an infection and notify individuals so they can protect others from COVID.”
Long-term care facilities’ data
The state recently began publishing long-term care facilities’ data on a web page. Dr. Dan Rusyniak, chief medical officer of the the state’s Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), said the data is from 95% of the state’s facilities. Others continue to work with the state to get their data uploaded.
FSSA is also working to validate the data, so the information should be viewed as preliminary, Rusyniak said.
“We have never underreported or hid data. We have always reported the aggregate data facilities submitted to us. However, the way we collected data from facilities has changed. Our previous system was created to help us identify new cases in facilities so we could mobilize strike teams and infection-control resources. That first system was not designed for cumulative reporting or in-depth analysis. For that, we needed to build a new system, built specifically for public reporting of facility-level information.”
In addition, Rusyniak said, the state will test all employees of long-term facilities for a second time in August. Earlier testing, he said, did not reveal data that was helpful to find trends in the facilities, where more than half of Indiana’s COVID-19 deaths have been recorded.
In June, the state tested 46,201 employees of long-term care facilities, about 80% of people who work in the businesses. A total of 466, or 1%, tested positive for the coronavirus, Rusyniak said.
Reopening state government complex
The governor said the state government complex will begin to reopen to the public Aug. 17. Hoosiers may continue to meet with agency staff by appointment until that date.
Next Indiana coronavirus briefing
The next coronavirus briefing from state officials will be at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 5.