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Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Wednesday said he would activate Stage 3 of his pandemic reopening plan on Friday—two days earlier than previously scheduled.
The change applies to the entire state, except for Marion, Lake and Cass counties, which will be allowed to start Stage 3 on June 1 if local authorities approve of that move.
Holcomb originally said Stage 3 would be activated on May 24.
Stage 3 of the governor’s reopening plan allows:
– Social gatherings of up to 100 people;
– Gyms, YMCAs and fitness facilities to open, with restrictions;
– Community pools and campgrounds to open;
– Recreational sports practices to begin under guidelines, except for contact sports;
– Basketball and tennis courts and soccer and baseball fields to open;
– Restaurant dining rooms to remain at 50% capacity;
– Retail stores and shopping malls to open at 75% capacity;
Remote work is still encouraged whenever possible in Stage 3. Bars, nightclubs and entertainment and sports venues are to remain closed. Casinos also must stay closed.
Youth summer day camps will be allowed to start June 1. Indiana State Health Commissioner Kristina Box said her team is working on local guidance for the camps, but she suggested people should get outdoors as much as possible and having boxed lunches. No overnight camps are allowed yet.
Individuals are strongly encouraged—but not required—to wear a face mask when in public or around other people.
“The No. 1 thing you can do is wear a mask when you’re around a lot of other people,” Holcomb said.
Stage 2 of the plan began May 4 and allowed retailers to reopen and increased the social gathering size limit from 10 to 25 people. On May 11, some in-person dining at restaurants was allowed and personal service businesses could reopen in most of the state.
Marion County continues to lag behind the state’s reopening schedule though, with in-person dining at restaurants starting Friday, but that is limited to outdoor-dining only. Personal services are still not allowed to be open, but retailers were given the OK to open doors on May 15 at 50% capacity.
Holcomb said he felt comfortable continuing to loosen the restrictions—and doing it two days earlier than expected—because of how well Stage 2 has been going.
“People, for the most part, … have been paying attention to wearing a mask when they’re in large crowds or close to folks or that physical distancing, that 6-feet-plus,” Holcomb said. “Those things have really made a difference.”
Holcomb said he will sign an executive order Thursday that allows the state to move into Stage 3.
The governor said he also was extending until July 1 the prohibition on turning off utilities; extending the prohibition on filing mortgage foreclosures and evictions; and extending the deadlines to acquire or renew drivers licenses, vehicle registrations and other BMV documentation.
Stage 4 is still expected to start June 14, but Holcomb stressed that the date is written in pencil and could change. In that stage, groups of up to 250 people could gather, bars could reopen at 50% capacity, retailers could operate at 100% capacity, restaurants could have 75% capacity and sports and entertainment venues could reopen at 50% capacity.
“Stage 2 is a very important stage that got us to Stage 3,” Holcomb said. “Stage 3 will be just as important, and it will determine if we get to Stage 4, when we get to Stage 4.”
Box said she still has some concerns about moving to Stage 4, which is currently scheduled to last through July 3, but she will continue to monitor the data on a daily basis.
“I have concerns and reservations about every step and every change we make,” Box said. “However, I do think there is a way that we can do this safely, and that involves all of the same things that we’ve already been doing, and that is social distancing, washing our hands, wearing our masks.”
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Great we open the dirty side walks & streets to dine in and walk through the restaurants to go to the bathroom makes no since! If i feel I’m in jeopardy i don’t need Holcomb’s pathetic help keeping me safe.
Why do people get Hogsett & Holcomb mixed up all the time?
You act like he is making you go to these restaurants. Well, he is not! Stay home if you do not feel comfortable, it is pretty simple!
It’s sense, not since. But it doesn’t matter, we are all going to die anyway. #MurderHornets!
Unfortunately it is Hogsett who is doing this to Indianapolis. We now go out of county to dine in, hair cut etc because you know the virus stays in Marion county and doesn’t cross the county lines😖. Just look at 96 street on north side of the street the restaurants dine in, south side all are dark. Really makes sense.
Sorry, just like school districts, you have to draw the line somewhere. Can’t make everyone happy.
Welcome to the WILD WEST. Hoosiers, you are on you own!! We continue to NOT get the leadership that we deserve. The State should have heavily invested in testing and contact tracing BEFORE letting the population run wild. The investment should have also been to provide an adequate supply of PPE (masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, etc.) for the public as well. The mantra that should have been drilled into our psyche is to wear a mask and to adhere to social distancing. With no hint of any type of enforcement, the public was never motivated to pay much attention to the basics of how to live during a pandemic. If South Korea or Australia would have adopted the Indiana approach (the Trump plan in disguise), they would NOT have been successful to contain and mitigate the virus. Just look at the numbers: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html. Indiana needs its own Dr. Fauci equivalent. This would be someone with expertise and not part of the political apparatus. Please Stay Healthy and Safe as best you can.
One is a democrat and the other is a republican. What doesn’t make sense? Hogsett is in keeping with the directive from the party. Keep the people in tow. He’s worried about the election and not the commerce of the city. I can’t believe people even voted for this man. Has he ever owned a business?
Have you ever run a city? Held elected office?
And Holcomb is worried that Trump/Pence won’t be re-elected if he listens to the scientists!! I can’t believe anyone voted for that man but it is Indiana and it bleeds red.
How many workers in a meat packing plant do we want to sacrifice to be able to have our steaks? The pandemic challenge has nothing to do with politics. The virus will infect both republicans and democrats alike. Herd mentality (the social media equivalent of lemmings) has blurred and clouded everyone’s understanding of what a pandemic means. One might have hoped that during the shutdown, many would have attempted to get a better understanding of the pandemic besides watching Fox News. Life that we knew several months ago will not return. We all have to get used to a life that will be forever changed on every level, socially, economically, emotionally, etc. One would like to believe, that by helping those in our immediate sphere, we are taking the first steps of surviving these trying times.
Man where does all this negativity come from. You can’t be a happy person. Obviously this has been a terrible few months for us all and it will take a while longer to get the drugs and vaccines in a good spot to get people confident that they can freely be out in public again. This is a huge wake up call. To say things have changed forever is simply just unfounded And unnecessary doom and gloom. Be part of the solution instead of the mindless complaining.
Thank you; Larry. Phillip: A vaccine will change everything, at least as far as COVID goes. But I hope our public officials (as well as the public) are taking lots of notes and being prepared for future outbreaks. Having said that, you’ve got a lot of “20/20 hindsight” in your expertise. All those sanitizing wipes we should’ve “invested in” – were they supposed to materialize out of thin air? It’s a market-driven economy. Wipes can be made only so fast; they can’t be stored for decades waiting for a pandemic.
If that is how you feel, fine, stay home. Don’t even think about having your (miss) beliefs enforced on others.In this country we think and act for ourselves. I have been to work every day since this started with 500 other essential workers. We are all okay. No shortage of PPE and practical about maintaining safe distance. Never once did I feel like I was risking a life to make sure you had your toilet paper.
Open Marion county gezzzzz.
Amen, James. Life as I knew it several months ago WILL and IS returning. Since things have begun opening up, my family and I have been to restaurants, I have gone to the nail salon, and we have traveled to Florida for a nice vacation week on the Gulf….all while being responsible with our health and hygiene and mindful of the health of those around us. It is good citizenship to help bring our businesses back from this awful situation. We will not succumb to or be railroaded by the hysterical doomsdayer point of view. “We all have to get used to a life that will be forever changed on every level, socially, economically, emotionally, etc.”…..really, Phillip T.?!?! Enjoy your isolation…you won’t find anyone to disagree with you there or to take issue with your arrogant “I know better than you. Everyone else is ignorant” approach. My life, my husband’s life and the lives of my children will return to normal in this great country we call America. You can roll over and say good-bye to your way of life for nothing if you choose, but we choose otherwise.
I’m so happy to learn that you’ve been to the nail salon. LOL
Sorry that I totally missed the boat. I proudly wear our collect “badge of honor” just like our President today. Gosh, our total number of cases, approximately 1.5 million + is only better than the next 5 countries combined, although Russia is creeping up there. We can do better. Gosh, if we do more testing, we might even double that number. On the death side (approximately, 92,000+), we are only better than the next 3 countries combined. Oh, I forgot, you should not trust sites like this: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html. FAKE NEWS, of course.
Take some time and do some homework: From Galileo To Dr. Fauci: The History Of Science Denial And Conspiracies: NPR 1A episode
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly90aGUxYS5vcmcvZmVlZC9wb2RjYXN0/episode/aHR0cHM6Ly90aGUxYS5vcmcvc2VnbWVudHMvZnJvbS1nYWxpbGVvLXRvLWRyLWZhdWNpLXRoZS1oaXN0b3J5LW9mLXNjaWVuY2UtZGVuaWFsLWFuZC1jb25zcGlyYWNpZXMv?hl=en
Recall Hogsett
Recall Holcomb. Let him play with his doggie.
My family has been here long before Indiana was formed, which is before US was formed. Hogsett is a hero for everybody that knows anything about law, life, money or the international bill of human rights. Eric Holcomb is the best Governor, and Suzanne Crouch is the best LT, we have ever had since McNutt. Holcomb is a grad from Hanover U, which is Hannover University in our fatherland… Mickey Mauer is another hero. Indiana is .gov compliant. Have you ever lived in another state who has abandoned .gov?? Stop looking at what you lost and start looking for opportunities that are sustained by these leaders. There are many. Is the glass half full; or half empty? Now you can have a block-party – rejoice, wait for Phase 4. Follow your leaders.
It’s just a point I was making Jennifer s. Don’t be catty. We all need to get back to supporting all of these poor businesses that are suffering. There’s are real people, real families that are losing their livelihoods. I’m also doing many other things like giving more to my local food pantry. The point I was making in that statement was about getting back to normal and helping businesses out that have reopened. Why do people like you have to target a statement disingenuously just so you can stick their nose in the air and look down at everyone else?
I, too, have suffered losing over 50% of my income for the year so far. However, one needs incorporate the best science into moderating this pandemic. Of course, remember, we all the responsibility to ourselves and to are neighbors with wearing masks and adhering to social distancing. One has to spend the time to keep up with the scientific information as it is obtained. Of course, as reliable information is available, recommendations will change. This has some similarity to the HIV crisis years ago. When we had more reliable scientific information, we did not have to be as concerned about transmission than at the beginning of the outbreak. Obviously, this is totally different situation. Also, the general public continues to equate Sars-CoV-2 and the Influenza viruses. We are dealing with a whole new virus with no treatment and no vaccine so far. The public has still not gotten the message that the ONLY way to mitigate is to isolate and quarantine. Please read about how South Korea and Australia has handled COVID-19. We need to adopt many of those practices to the US. Fundamentally, it was based on much more wide spread testing of its citizens and availability of masks for the general population. Not to focus on history, but both South Korea and Australia went through SARS-CoV-1 pandemic in 2003. As a result, they were must more prepared for COVID-19. The US was very aware of their experiences and expertise. I am not going to bring up the US response for COVID-19, but you can probably guess my opinion. However, the containment of this pandemic at this point is not helped by a political argument a blame game. We need to stay focused on the science to mitigate both the severity of the medical and economic consequences of this pandemic. Of course, I am very concerned for all small businesses which have been devastated by pandemic. As mentioned in the beginning, I have been greatly affected economically as well. I am not apologetic for taking a conservative, medical approach to this problem at this time. Everyone will make their own decisions on how to live under these challenging times. Just be extremely sure that you are not putting anyone else in undo danger based on your decision!!