Although most of Indiana is opening up on Monday, Cass County is not, at least for another two weeks.

The latest executive order from Gov. Eric Holcomb will permit most of Indiana’s counties to move to “Stage 2” of the five reopening stages, as detailed by the governor’s office. Each stage gradually eases restrictions well into the summer.

But state officials singled out Cass, Lake and Marion Counties for delayed reopening.

On May 4, retail and commercial businesses, including malls, can open at 50% capacity, with common spaces limited to 25% capacity. The limit on gatherings increases from 10 people to 25 people and approximately half of the state’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ offices will open by appointment only.

Under Stage 2, nursing homes, bars and gyms will remain closed.

In most of the state, public libraries may also reopen though officials encourage office employees to continue working remotely, if possible. The most vulnerable Hoosiers, including those with pre-existing conditions or the elderly, are asked to remain at home.

Most personal services, such as hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, spas and tattoo parlors, may open on May 11 by appointment only with operational limitations. Employees must wear face coverings, work stations must be spaced to meet social distancing guidelines, and other requirements must be met. Customers should wear face coverings to the extent possible.

The Stage 2 measures apply for all counties except Cass, Lake and Marion. The other 89 Indiana counties can move into Stage 2 on May 11, while Cass County, which had a recent coronavirus outbreak at a Tyson pork processing plant, will be delayed until May 18. Lake and Marion Counties are scheduled to move to sStage 2 May 11.

Officials stressed that the ability for counties to move forward with reopening will be tied to the capacity of their hospitals and said that guidance would be reconsidered if hospitalization numbers spike.

Enforcement under the order remains unclear, with state officials saying Hoosiers will self-regulate. Under the state’s last executive order, businesses received only verbal warnings and the state sent no cease-and-desist letters.

Tyson to reopen

Despite the delay in Cass County, Tyson Foods plans to reopen its Logansport pork processing plant next week, according to a statement the company released Friday morning.

The company gave no specific date for the reopening.

The facility will reopen to limited production after local health and government officials, a union representative and medical professionals tour the plant.

Tyson shut down operations April 25 due to the large number of COVID-19 among the workers, and the Cass County Health Department has been testing all the workers.

Tyson’s workers who test positive from the company-wide testing or have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 will he directed to contact their health care provider, to continue self-isolation and to care for themselves.

“Workers who test negative will be asked to return to work, provided they remain asymptomatic,” according to the statement.

Todd Neff, senior vice president pork, stated, “we added more workstation barriers, installed more hand sanitizer dispensers, and did additional deep cleaning and sanitation. We’re also now screening employees for additional symptoms and designating monitors to help enforce social distancing, while following the CDC and OSHA’s guidance for Meat and Poultry Processing Workers and Employers.”

The company has doubled its bonus for employees. Team members who cannot come to work due to illness or childcare will continue to qualify, but bonus eligibility will depend on attendance. Tyson Foods also increased short-term disability coverage to 90% of normal pay until June 30 to encourage team members to stay home when they are sick.

Tyson has also hired Matrix Medical Network to have a mobile health clinic at the site, according to a press release from both companies.

Matrix will provide diagnostic (PCR) testing of employees for COVID-19, daily on-site clinical screening support, assistance with the plant’s design to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 spread, employee access to a nurse practitioner and employee education and support for personal health goals or concerns.

BraunAbility to close

BraunAbility announced Friday that it will suspend its Winamac-based manufacturing operations through May 11.

As of Friday, three BraunAbility employees have tested positive for COVID-19, and each have voluntarily quarantined at home, according to a press release. Employees who may have come into contact with the third employee have been notified of their potential exposure but contact tracing efforts have determined that additional exposure was limited.

The company said in the press release that it has “implemented a broad range of preventative initiatives over the last six weeks, including a deep cleaning and disinfecting of all facilities. Additional handwashing stations were installed throughout the factory, and staggered production schedules were implemented to limit the number of employees present at one time. BraunAbility procured personal protection equipment for all production workers, and all personnel are required to wear protective face masks. A stay-at-home protocol was established, and every employee is required to complete a symptom questionnaire and temperature check before entering the facility. Employees who can perform their jobs from home are required to do so, and all visitors and travel have been restricted.”

“The health and safety of our employees is our number one priority right now,” said Tom Eastman, president of North American manufacturing. “I’m proud of the proactive and vigilant efforts we continue to take on their behalf, but even prouder that our employees are protecting each other by taking symptoms seriously and staying at home if needed.”

Latest data

According to the latest update from Logansport Memorial Hospital, 1,421 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Cass County. Of those, 1,227 are Cass County residents. The other 194 live outside Cass County. A total of 2,007 tests have come back negative.

That number differs from the number of cases reported by the Indiana State Health Department (ISHD).

The most recent ISHD report shows 176 cases in Howard County, 107 in Miami, 51 in White, 24 in Carroll, 30 in Fulton and 25 in Pulaski.

New guidelines similar to those in effect in Cass County were adopted by the Pulaski County Board of Commissioners on Thursday.

An additional 668 cases have been confirmed statewide by the ISDH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Cass County Health Department, Memorial Hospital and private laboratories. That brings the statewide total to 18,649 (when state data and LMH data are combined) with 1,062 deaths, for a death rate of 5.7 percent.

A total of 99,639 tests have been reported to ISDH to date, up from 94,998 reported on Thursday with 18.7 percent of those returning positive results.

According to the latest update from the CDC, 1,031,659 cases are now confirmed nationwide. There have been 60,057 deaths reported nationwide for a death rate of 5.8 percent.

As of Friday morning’s report, the World Health Organization says 3,175,207 people have been infected in 215 countries with 224,172 deaths reported, for a global death rate of 7.1 percent.

© 2024 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.