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In Spite Of Surging COVID-19 Cases, Holcomb Remains Comfortable Staying Re-Opened

Lauren Chapman
/
IPB News

For consecutive days, Indiana logged record numbers of new COVID-19 cases on the state’s dashboard, but that's not prompting a policy response from the governor.

Friday, more than 1,832 cases were counted, an increase of nearly 400 from Thursday's record high.

The surge comes as Gov. Eric Holcomb and other senior state health officials insist data is driving re-opening decisions. However, data published on the state’s coronavirus dashboard paint a clear picture: new cases, positivity rate, and hospitalizations are all steadily increasing.

Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton (D), says Indiana is moving in the wrong direction, and called on the governor to ratchet up restrictions.

"We haven’t managed this well," he said. "Its depended upon local governments to step up with local health officials and partners—which we have—but it shouldn’t be laid in our laps."

Public health officials in other counties say local governments in other parts of the state refuse to implement greater restrictions.

According to an email from his press secretary, Holcomb said today he remains comfortable in stage five.

His Democratic challenger, Dr. Woody Myers, issued a release today calling on Holcomb to revert from stage five, issue additional restrictions, and provide new guidance to schools about learning in-person.

“We take it day by day and week by week," Holcomb continued, according to his press secretary. "There are a lot of factors that go into what we do. It’s the balance of our lives and our livelihoods.”

More 3,500 Hoosiers have died of complications due to COVID-19.

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