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Governor Eric Holcomb’s stay-at-home order expires Friday, May 1st. In an announcement Tuesday, Holcomb said he will provide more information about the future of the stay-at-home order in the coming days.
This leads to the possibility of Indiana joining ranks with 14 other states to re-open their economies.
“As much as we have done in the last months,” said Governor Holcomb, “we’ve got a lot more to do.”
The stay-at-home order has been updated twice. Coronavirus numbers in the state continue to climb, although social distancing has allowed the state to remain within healthcare capacity.
“Your physical distancing has made quite a difference,” said Holcomb. “The proof is in the numbers.”
Contributors to Time Magazine Arthur Caplan and Robert Bazell reported “testing is the only answer” in the wake of coronavirus.
They wrote in Time, “until we have a vaccine, which is likely a year or more off, or truly effective treatments, which may be just as far in the future, the answer is, as it has been since the start of this pandemic: testing, testing and more testing.”
Tuesday’s announcement revealed Indiana will add 50 sites to increase testing to 100,000 tests per month and 30,000 tests per week.
Dr. Lindsay Weaver, Chief Medical Officer for the Indiana State Department of Health, touched on expanded testing.
“More than 87,000 Hoosiers have been tested to date,” she said, “today we are excited to announce another step that will significantly expand testing.”
Dr. Weaver also discussed contact tracing and an online screening tool for self-reported symptoms of coronavirus.
“Additionally, we will be testing close contacts of infected persons,” she said.
During the Q & A portion of Tuesday’s press conference, Steve with KPC Media asked the governor about re-opening the economy despite a resurgence in cases.
“With some of the numbers you’ve been seeing, do you have any concerns about the latest activity with Covid in the state?” asked the reporter.
Holcomb responded with a rhetorical question, “My north star is focused on: is or is not the healthcare system overwhelmed? In Indiana, it is not.”
In Indiana, more than 515,000 people filed for unemployment insurance claims over a five-week period. Indy Star reported that the state’s real-time unemployment rate is about 14 percent.
Despite record numbers of unemployment, re-opening the economy prematurely would be a mistake.
Phil Powell, associate dean and clinical associate of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business told the Indy Star, “the more we can test, then we know who’s at risk and who’s not. Those at risk can stay socially distant. Those not at risk can start to conduct normal commerce.”
We will know more on the future of Indiana’s stay-at-home order when Governor Holcomb gives his announcement in the coming days.
