Dr. Lindsay Weaver, chief medical officer for the Indiana State Department of Health, speaks during Tuesday’s press conference in Indianapolis. Screencapture/
INDIANAPOLIS — “Do it for everybody else.”
That's the advice of Dr. Linsday Weaver, Indiana State Department of Health chief medical officer, for Hoosiers to take precautions to prevent spread of COVID-19 as people return to work and public spaces.
Most of Indiana is now in Stage 2 of Indiana's five-step “Back on Track Indiana” plan, which has meant most businesses can reopen and Hoosiers can return to work, stores and public spaces after more than a month of stay-at-home orders.
Within the guidelines for Stage 2, however, the state is advising Hoosiers older than 65 years old to continue staying at home as much as possible and take additional precautions when they go out.
About 91% of all Hoosier deaths have been people older than 60. Among those known to have the virus, less than 1% of people younger than 60 have died, compared to about 15% of people 60-plus.
Gov. Eric Holcomb said thinking about how to protect older Hoosiers is extremely timely as people head out from home.
“We know that 91% of all the deaths are 60 years or older. We also know younger folks can carry this and transmit,” Holcomb said. “It really is a combination that leads to be some fatal results.”
Holcomb said the state's five-step plan is a “road map” and that the progress Indiana makes in controlling COVID-19 will determine how quickly the state moves along that path.
“It's critically important we pay attention to what we can be doing, whether we think we're bulletproof and young and we'll get over it and we're of the hook — wrong — or if we're older and vulnerable,” Holcomb said.
Weaver suggested that people consider their own parents or grandparents and what they would do to protect their own family members, then apply that more broadly to their community.
Weaver said she is telling her own parents to stay at home, avoid crowds, continue keeping their distance from others, wash hands, etc.
“Do it for everybody else,” Weaver said. “Put your grandparents' face on all the people you're passing in the store or restaurant.”
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