Cummins delays return-to-office plans until early 2022
The engine maker confirmed Wednesday it is pushing its return-to-office timeline to early next year as COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations surge in Indiana and the nation.
Indiana reports 86 more COVID-19 deaths
Statewide hospitalizations due to COVID ticked down from 2,518 on Monday to 2,513 on Tuesday. That number is up from 1,109 a month ago and 418 two months ago.
IndyGo offering month of free rides to vaccination clinic participants
Participants will receive a 31-day IndyGo paper pass at the clinic immediately following their COVID-19 vaccination.
As experts debate boosters, some vaccinated people are calling their own shots
Booster confusion appears to have reached epidemic proportions amid a flood of new scientific studies that are not always consistent with one another. “Fully vaccinated” is suddenly a squishy concept.
Nearly a third of state’s intensive care unit beds full of COVID patients
The Indiana State Department of Health on Tuesday said statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are continuing to soar, hitting their highest mark since early January.
Beech Grove to pay employees $50 to get COVID vaccinations
Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley said “it is imperative all of us who are eligible get vaccinated to protect the health and safety of our community, particularly our children and our neighbors who are immunocompromised.”
Extra jobless benefits come to an end for about 8.9M Americans
Millions of jobless Americans lost their unemployment benefits on Monday, leaving only a handful of economic support programs for those who are still being hit financially by the year-and-a-half-old coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. booster plan faces complications, some might miss Sept. 20
President Joe Biden’s plans to start delivery of booster shots by Sept. 20 for most Americans who received the COVID-19 vaccines are facing new complications that could delay the availability of third doses for those who received the Moderna vaccine, administration officials said Friday.
Demand for COVID testing skyrockets as delta surges
People needing a COVID-19 test for travel, work or school are spending hours, sometimes days, looking for a place that can squeeze them in and turn around results quickly.
Q&A with Mary Kay Foster, who gets real with pathogens day in and day out
Foster, 58, is a registered nurse and program manager of the special pathogens unit at Indiana University Health, which is dealing with many facets of the pandemic, from vaccinations to keeping bedside workers safe.
Statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19 climb past 2,400
Indiana reported another 20 deaths from the virus, raising the cumulative total to 14,121. The seven-day moving average of new deaths remained at 18 per day, the health department said.
U.S. hiring slows to unexpected low after two strong months
Even though hiring was relatively tepid in August, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.2%, from 5.4% in July.
Hotels throw in the towel on daily cleanings
Daily housekeeping was once a given. Since the onset of the pandemic, hotels of all sizes and price points have been scaling back this service to every few nights and allowing guests to determine the frequency of attention.
Companies loosen job requirements, but challenges remain
In a desperation for hired hands, companies have loosened hiring restrictions on everything from age to level of experience. The changing standards may have helped boost hiring this summer, even as many companies complained they couldn’t find all the workers they need.
U.S. hospitals hit with nurse staffing crisis amid COVID
The problem, health leaders say, is twofold: Nurses are quitting or retiring, exhausted or demoralized by the crisis. And many are leaving for lucrative temporary jobs with traveling-nurse agencies that can pay $5,000 or more a week.
GM, Ford halt some production as chip shortage worsens
Among the plants halting production is one near Fort Wayne that makes the popular Chevrolet Silverado pickup and has more than 4,400 employees.
IU Health suspends hundreds of unvaccinated workers, postpones all inpatient elective surgeries
IU Health, the state’s largest hospital system, said unvaccinated workers will be placed on a two-week suspension and will be allowed to return to work if they attest to partial or full vaccination.
Indiana COVID-19 cases hit highest mark since Jan. 9, hospitalizations rise again
The Indiana State Department of Health on Thursday reported another 23 more deaths from the virus, raising the cumulative total to 14,101.
US jobless claims reach pandemic low as hiring strengthens
Jobless claims dropped by 14,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The weekly count has mostly fallen steadily since topping 900,000 in early January.
Holcomb orders hospitals to report ambulance diversions, ending secretive practice
The order cites the recent strain on hospitals from the pandemic, and states they must report the number of hours each day they close their doors to ambulances bringing in new patients.
Resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC Resources for Businesses and Employers OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 Indiana State Department of Health Indy Chamber Rapid Response Hub Small Business Administration The SBA is making low-interest loans for working capital available to Indiana small businesses. Indiana Unemployment Information Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Dashboard Critical Industries Hotline(for business and industry only)
877-820-0890
covidresponse@iedc.in.gov State’s virus-related executive orders State plan to reopen Indiana