The contrast was jarring.
On Friday, as Gov. Eric Holcomb delivered a flowery speech outlining Indiana’s plan to “reopen” the state amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some horrible numbers came out.
The Indiana State Health Department reported 55 additional coronavirus deaths, as well as 805 new infections.
As of Monday, 1,151 people in Indiana have died due to complications from COVID-19 — all in the last two months. That includes one in Vanderburgh County and 18 in Warrick, where outbreaks have ripped through nursing homes.
More: Two additional COVID-19 deaths from Newburgh nursing home, Warrick Coroner
Holcomb asked residents to “never, ever forget” that people who have died from this terrible virus are way more than tallies on a spreadsheet. No regurgitation of stats could ever hint at the suffering families have endured over these bizarre, terrifying months.
But the plan to reopen brought a sad, implicit message with it, too: deaths, by themselves, aren’t gonna derail the effort.
Under the plan, Indiana will incrementally ease restrictions in five stages. And “four guiding principles” will determine how well we’re doing: whether or not hospitalizations decrease; whether we have enough ventilators and ICU beds; whether we can test anyone who shows symptoms; and whether we can track people who come in contact with COVID sufferers.
If we fail in any of those areas, Holcomb said, the reopening plan could slow or stop completely – either statewide or in areas that suffer outbreaks.
As long as our hospitals aren’t overwhelmed, Holcomb wants to see the state look something like its normal self by the Fourth of July.
“Conventions, sports events, fairs, festivals, (the) state fair and like-events may resume and remote work will be optional,” he said when outlining the final stage of the plan. “Retail stores, malls, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, gyms and personal services may operate at full capacity.”
More: Coronavirus: Here's what the next few months could look like in Evansville | Webb
Holcomb said social distancing will still be necessary in “stage five" (we're in "stage two" now). But how you stay six-feet apart at the state fair is beyond me. And he admitted the plan will cause cases to increase.
“We’ve always said we wanted to be in the position to care for anyone who has been adversely impacted by COVID-19. The whole point is that we have the ability to do that and the resources to do that,” he said when Indiana Public Broadcasting’s Lauren Chapman asked him what the point of the lockdown had been. “That was the whole calling out to say, ‘Hoosiers, we have to slow the spread. We have to flatten the curve.’
“… Without a (therapy) or vaccine,” he continued, “we’re gonna lose people all over the world.”
He's right, of course. The New York Times reported Monday that the Trump administration privately expects the U.S. daily death toll to almost double by June. And we know more people will suffer financially the longer the state stays locked down.
But it’s pretty clear we’re making a callous trade-off: more people will die, but we’re moving forward anyway.
We’re in a better position now than we were in March. Testing capacity is up, and there’s hope – despite the sickening casualty numbers – that the virus will eventually slow down.
But as the rest of us head back to the gym and start eating in restaurants again, more death reports like Friday’s will stream out of the ISDH.
They won’t be statistics. They’ll be people who leave behind grieving families.
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