Indiana will remain in Stage 4.5 of Governor Holcomb’s Back on Track plan for another 30 days. During a press conference Wednesday, the governor announced that he plans to extend the current stage, along with the statewide mask mandate, through September 25.
“On the one hand, we’re pleased that we’ve been holding steady – kind of Steady Eddy Indiana here – in terms of our positivity rate,” Holcomb said. “We don’t want that to trend up. We’d like to see it start to trend down even more so.”
But State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box noted that hospitalization numbers are still higher than they were in June. Another concern is that a significant number of Hoosiers haven’t been responding to contact tracers. “So if you get a text or a phone call from the State Department of Health about an important public health matter, please answer the text. Answer the call,” Box said.
In Stage 4.5, restaurant dining rooms may only operate at 75 percent capacity, while bars and nightclubs are at 50 percent. Social gatherings are limited to 250 people, but festivals and other special events may have more, if they have an event plan approved by the local health department.
The governor said he understood that residents may be frustrated with the restrictions, but he said the state has to deal with reality.
