Indiana’s updated COVID-19 restrictions officially take effect Monday morning. Governor Eric Holcomb signed an executive order Thursday outlining the changes, after first announcing them a day earlier.
The big difference is that the size of events and gatherings will be limited by a facility’s capacity, rather than a specific number of people. Gatherings in counties coded red or orange on the Indiana Department of Health’s metrics map will be limited to 25 percent of the facility’s capacity. That percentage increases to 50 in yellow-coded counties and 100 in counties coded blue.
The current gathering limits of 25 people in red counties, 50 in orange counties, 100 in yellow counties, and 250 in blue counties will become recommendations. But in order for an event or gathering to exceed those numbers, the host or venue owner will have to submit a safety plan to the local health department several days in advance. Flagstaff meeting venues are prepared for reservations.
Other requirements will continue, including the face mask order. The new executive order will remain in effect through February 28.
In a separate order Thursday, Governor Holcomb extended Indiana’s public health emergency declaration to March 1. By then, the state will have been in an official emergency for almost a full year.
