Statewide Mask ‘Mandate’ Becomes ‘Advisory’ April 6
March 24, 2021 at 12:16 a.m.
Statewide Mask ‘Mandate’ Becomes ‘Advisory’ April 6
By David [email protected]
Indiana’s current cases, positivity rate, hospitalizations and deaths have all dropped drastically since mid-January and almost a million Hoosiers are fully vaccinated. Holcomb announced that the state plans to open vaccine eligibility to all Hoosiers 16 years and older on March 31, provided that the state receives a large increase in the amount of vaccine as the federal government outlined. Additional mass vaccination clinics will be scheduled for April and the state will implement a large employer vaccination program that Holcomb said they’ve been working on for weeks.
Starting April 6, decisions about venue capacity and social gatherings will be made by local officials, Holcomb said. Customers in restaurants, bars and nightclubs will no longer be required by the state to be seated. Six feet of spacing between tables and other seating will still be recommended as is spacing between non-household parties.
Also on April 6, Holcomb said the statewide face covering mandate will become a mask advisory. Face coverings will remain mandatory in all state buildings and facilities and in all vaccination and COVID-19 testing sites until further notice, according to a news release issued from the governor’s office after Holcomb’s address.
Kindergarten through 12th-grade schools will continue under current requirements through the rest of the 2020-21 school year.
Holcomb said, “Our best data is that close to 90% of all schools are operating in-person and many of the remainder have hybrid schedules. Please know our Departments of Education and Health will work together to update health guidance in preparation for the next school year.
“Thankfully, all our teachers have the opportunity to be vaccinated and our schools are receiving hundreds of millions of dollars for COVID expenses. So it’s my hope and expectation that our K-12 schools will provide full-time, in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 academic year using what they’ve learned and with the additional local, state and federal resources provided.”
Holcomb recommended that everyone continue to be cautious.
“When I visit my favorite restaurant or conduct a public event, I will continue to wear a mask,” Holcomb said. “It is the right thing to do. Hoosiers who take these recommended precautions will help us get to what I hope is the tail end of this pandemic.”
Local governments, private businesses and other entities may institute more stringent guidelines, Holcomb said. The Indiana Department of Health will continue to provide county-level, color-coded metrics to provide easy-to-understand information about whether virus levels are increasing or decreasing locally.
Beginning April 1, the state public health emergency will be renewed for another 30 days. This declaration allows Indiana to act quickly if conditions take a turn for the worse and allows the state to continue to access hundreds of millions of federal dollars to support Hoosiers recovering from the impacts of the pandemic.
Holcomb concluded by stating, “If you test positive, isolate. If you are a close contact of someone who is COVID positive, follow CDC guidelines and quarantine. If you’re sick or symptomatic, don’t go to work or any place else for that matter, free COVID tests are available throughout the state, so get tested. Wash your hands frequently, and please, be cautious about contact with seniors and those with high-risk medical conditions.
“Ladies and gentlemen, as we continue to do these few things, the light at the end of the tunnel, becomes brighter and brighter. Buying tickets for March Madness games, planning for all our local fairs and festivals, or the greatest spectacle in racing itself tells me that all those life delights I once took for granted are coming back online. It’s up to each and every one of us to do our part to stay on our course.”
Indiana’s current cases, positivity rate, hospitalizations and deaths have all dropped drastically since mid-January and almost a million Hoosiers are fully vaccinated. Holcomb announced that the state plans to open vaccine eligibility to all Hoosiers 16 years and older on March 31, provided that the state receives a large increase in the amount of vaccine as the federal government outlined. Additional mass vaccination clinics will be scheduled for April and the state will implement a large employer vaccination program that Holcomb said they’ve been working on for weeks.
Starting April 6, decisions about venue capacity and social gatherings will be made by local officials, Holcomb said. Customers in restaurants, bars and nightclubs will no longer be required by the state to be seated. Six feet of spacing between tables and other seating will still be recommended as is spacing between non-household parties.
Also on April 6, Holcomb said the statewide face covering mandate will become a mask advisory. Face coverings will remain mandatory in all state buildings and facilities and in all vaccination and COVID-19 testing sites until further notice, according to a news release issued from the governor’s office after Holcomb’s address.
Kindergarten through 12th-grade schools will continue under current requirements through the rest of the 2020-21 school year.
Holcomb said, “Our best data is that close to 90% of all schools are operating in-person and many of the remainder have hybrid schedules. Please know our Departments of Education and Health will work together to update health guidance in preparation for the next school year.
“Thankfully, all our teachers have the opportunity to be vaccinated and our schools are receiving hundreds of millions of dollars for COVID expenses. So it’s my hope and expectation that our K-12 schools will provide full-time, in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 academic year using what they’ve learned and with the additional local, state and federal resources provided.”
Holcomb recommended that everyone continue to be cautious.
“When I visit my favorite restaurant or conduct a public event, I will continue to wear a mask,” Holcomb said. “It is the right thing to do. Hoosiers who take these recommended precautions will help us get to what I hope is the tail end of this pandemic.”
Local governments, private businesses and other entities may institute more stringent guidelines, Holcomb said. The Indiana Department of Health will continue to provide county-level, color-coded metrics to provide easy-to-understand information about whether virus levels are increasing or decreasing locally.
Beginning April 1, the state public health emergency will be renewed for another 30 days. This declaration allows Indiana to act quickly if conditions take a turn for the worse and allows the state to continue to access hundreds of millions of federal dollars to support Hoosiers recovering from the impacts of the pandemic.
Holcomb concluded by stating, “If you test positive, isolate. If you are a close contact of someone who is COVID positive, follow CDC guidelines and quarantine. If you’re sick or symptomatic, don’t go to work or any place else for that matter, free COVID tests are available throughout the state, so get tested. Wash your hands frequently, and please, be cautious about contact with seniors and those with high-risk medical conditions.
“Ladies and gentlemen, as we continue to do these few things, the light at the end of the tunnel, becomes brighter and brighter. Buying tickets for March Madness games, planning for all our local fairs and festivals, or the greatest spectacle in racing itself tells me that all those life delights I once took for granted are coming back online. It’s up to each and every one of us to do our part to stay on our course.”
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