Gov. Holcomb says Indiana staying in Stage 5

10/23/2020

Election Day will not figure into Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s plans to keep the state in Stage Five of his Back on Track Indiana reopening plan.

“Could not be further from the truth,” he told WANE 15 Friday. Instead, the state will “surgically deal with surges.” “We’re going to have to manage our way through balancing our lives and our livelihoods,” the governor said.

On Friday, the Indiana Department of Health reported 2,519 new coronavirus cases, after a record-setting 2,880 new cases Thursday. The state has reported more than 1,000 new cases each day since Oct. 7.

Even so, Holcomb said the state is better equipped to deal with specific outbreaks now than earlier in 2020, with stockpiled personal protective equipment, improved contact tracing ability and hospital capacity. “It comes down to where is the spread coming from?” Holcomb said. “Is it a meat processing plant? Is it a long-term care facility? Is it a department of corrections facility? There are different ways to come in and surgically deal with that.”

Holcomb has extended Indiana’s mask mandate through Nov. 14.