Hoosiers are being urged to follow through with their counties’ COVID-19 restrictions, even if community spread starts to decrease. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box says her office has talked extensively with local health departments about when they may move to a lower level of restriction, as outlined in the governor’s executive order.
“Counties that see an improvement from red to orange, for example, need to stay in orange for two weeks before they begin adopting less restrictive measures on social gatherings and other recommendations,” Box said during Wednesday’s COVID-19 briefing. “This is designed to insure that the cases are moving in a consistently lower direction and that this isn’t just a one-week drop.”
While COVID-related hospitalizations statewide are down slightly from their peak in late November, Box warned that number could change quickly. She said a lot of the spread is being traced back to parties and gatherings in private homes, church services, weddings, funerals, and birthday parties, but also occasionally in bars, restaurants, and gyms.
Governor Eric Holcomb said it’s happening where people let their guards down. “When we’re around people we know well, maybe there’s more of an assumption to just kind of, you’re closer than six feet and you drop your mask because ‘I trust you that you’re not and you trust me.’ And so we always kind of look at and then extrapolate that out and just say it’s just happening a lot more where there are smaller gatherings where you let your guard down,” Holcomb said.
Dr. Box said the Indiana Department of Health has been tracking where people are getting exposed and sharing that information with local elected and public health officials.
