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Holcomb, State Leaders 'Cautiously Optimistic' About Improvement In COVID-19 Trends

Justin Hicks
/
IPB News

Indiana state officials say they’re seeing encouraging signs in COVID-19 data across the state.

But they emphasize the need for continued vigilance as talk of reopening the economy intensifies.

Gov. Eric Holcomb says he’ll be monitoring the “facts on the ground” to decide when businesses can start to reopen.

“We’ll be looking at our supply chain – is it sufficient? Our PPE levels, our hospital beds, our [ventilators]," Holcomb says. "We’ll be looking at, like I said, our testing ability, our tracing.”

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Holcomb also says it’s possible reopening the economy might start on a regional level, rather than statewide.

“It’ll be a rolling reopen. It won’t be all at once," Holcomb says. "It won’t be flipping a light switch.”

The governor indicated there will have to be new workplace accommodations made to ensure employee safety before businesses reopen. But he didn’t elaborate on what those accommodations would look like.

Contact Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

This is a rapidly evolving story, and we are working hard to bring you the most up-to-date information. However, we recommend checking the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Indiana State Department of Health for the most recent numbers of COVID-19 cases.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.