One Year after COVID-19’s Arrival, State Officials Are Cautiously Optimistic

Today marks one year since Indiana reported its first case of COVID-19. It was on the morning of Friday, March 6, 2020 when state officials announced that a Marion County resident who had recently traveled to Boston had tested positive for the coronavirus. A week later, schools began to close, and a couple weeks after that, Indiana was under a stay-at-home order.

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Gov. Holcomb Gets COVID-19 Vaccine

Gov. Holcomb receives the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in a garage at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Friday. (Governor’s Office photo)

Governor Eric Holcomb got his COVID-19 vaccine Friday. The governor joined a number of other elected officials in getting the shot at the drive-through mass vaccination site set up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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Gov. Holcomb Sticking with Mask Order As Some States Lift Theirs

Gov. Holcomb speaks during his weekly COVID-19 press conference on Mar. 3.

While some states are lifting their mask mandates, Governor Holcomb wants Indiana to continue on its current path. “In regards to Texas and Mississippi . . . good on them,” Holcomb said during Wednesday’s COVID-19 press conference. “They’ve got great leaders. But I’m looking at very local information. I’m very Indiana-centric about this, and I’m really happy about the path that we’re on to get to that light at the end of the tunnel.”

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Teachers to Be Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine under Federal but not State Guidelines

Indiana teachers will soon be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but how exactly they’ll be able to do that is complicated. “We received word from the federal government that they were going to provide doses to the federal pharmacy program for teachers to become prioritized across the country, obviously, including here in the State of Indiana,” Governor Holcomb said during Wednesday’s COVID-19 press conference.

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Governor to Extend COVID-19 Restrictions by another Month

Gov. Holcomb speaks during a COVID-19 press conference on Feb. 24.

Indiana’s current COVID-19 restrictions will remain in place for another 30 days. During his weekly press conference Wednesday, Governor Eric Holcomb said he plans to extend both his executive order and the public health emergency declaration. “We have made remarkable progress in relatively a short period of time,” Holcomb said. “This is not a ‘mission accomplished’ moment.”

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State Health Officials Seeking Guidance on Easing Long-Term Care Visitation Restrictions

When long-term care facility visitation is able to get back to normal will depend on more federal guidance. Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dan Rusyniak says indoor visitation is currently allowed in facilities that haven’t had any new cases in the past 14 days, as long as the seven-day positivity rate is under 10 percent in the county.

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Another 35 COVID-19 Deaths Reported in Indiana

Another 35 Hoosiers have died while positive for COVID-19, according to Sunday’s update from the Indiana Department of Health. That brings the total to 11,947 or 12,372 if probable deaths are included. The newly-reported deaths took place over the past several weeks, with one dating back to December. Another 888 positive cases were reported, with the state total now approaching 656,000.

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