INDIANAPOLIS — With retailers, restaurants and professional services beginning to reopen this week in Indiana, critics warn that Gov. Eric Holcomb’s plan to ease coronavirus directives is too hasty.
“The steps taken by the governor are premature and increase the likelihood of worsening the Indiana coronavirus epidemic,” Woody Myers, the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor, said in a release. “The steps fly in the face of recommendations created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and endorsed by The White House COVID-19 Task Force.”
President Donald Trump’s task force recommended that states resist reopening until they’ve had a two-week decline in cases. Acknowledging Monday that coronavirus cases in Indiana have plateaued rather than declined, state officials said that other factors prompted the decision to reopen.
“Declining cases over 14 days, again, that’s just one data point,” Lindsay Weaver, the chief medical officer of the Indiana State Department of Health, said on Monday. “At the same time, we’re looking at all those other data pieces and saw that our hospitalizations had flattened out and started to decline.”
The state’s dashboard at coronavirus.in.gov doesn’t include information about hospitalizations and officials haven’t release any numbers.
Myers, a medical doctor and former state health commissioner, said that reporting from the Department of Health indicated that cases are going up, not down.
“We will likely see a higher number of new cases in Indiana than if we had waited longer to ease restrictions,” Myers said. “We are simply not ready yet.”
According to the state’s data portal, the highest number of new reported cases was 952 on April 26, followed by 803 on April 30, the day before Holcomb announced his roadmap to reopening.
Each day since his announcement, the state has reported fewer new cases, but the numbers have still been higher than they were two weeks before, during the three-day stretch of April 19-21.
REOPENING PRINCIPLES
One of the core principles to reopening, according to state health officials, is the state’s ability to test symptomatic Hoosiers and perform contact tracing, identifying and testing all people who have been in direct contact with infected Hoosiers.
But neither state contract, $43 million for contact tracing and $17.9 million for testing, will start until Wednesday, two days after many businesses and organizations across the state have begun to reopen.
“None of the newly announced testing and contact tracing capacity is in place,” Myers said. “It would be much safer to take the time to make real preparations and wait until the testing sites are fully established and functioning well.”
Critics also object to the governor’s plan for three counties with high infection rates — Marion, Lake and Cass — to reopen later than the other 89.
Holcomb emphasized that the plan to reopen counties would be based on data, and that other counties could face tightened restrictions at various stages of reopening.
“I’m listening to the medical and scientific experts that have been around the table looking at this 24 hours a day for the last two, three months and we’re seeing real-time data,” Holcomb said Monday. “That’s what we’ll continue to factor in as we make decisions.”
But opponents of Holcomb’s plan pointed to different plans in other states, especially neighbors in Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan.
“With today’s announcement, Gov. Holcomb has charted a path for Indiana that is significantly more aggressive than those of our neighboring states,” minority leader state Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, said in a release. “I, like most Hoosiers, desire to return to normalcy as quickly and as safely as possible and hope that the governor’s decision proves to be the best course of action.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker extended a modified stay-at-home order until May 30, limiting retailers to online or pick-up services only.
In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order expires May 15 but requires that people wear masks or face coverings in public spaces. Indiana’s order says masks are recommended.
Ohio’s stay-at-home order goes until May 29 under Gov. Mike DeWine. Manufacturing, construction and distribution began to reopen Monday, and retailers may resume some activities May 12.
Non-emergency surgeries may resume in Kentucky on May 13. Manufacturing and construction can restart on May 11, but churches can’t open until May 20.
Indiana churches may reopen Friday, and Indiana’s hospitals began planning for elective surgeries last week.
POLITICAL PRESSURE
GiaQuinta asked Holcomb not to succumb to political pressure, such as that generated by three Right to Work rallies in the state capital.
“I know Gov. Holcomb and his advisors have difficult decisions to make each day, but gathering input from a diverse group of Hoosiers, relying on proven medical data and not succumbing to outside political pressure will ensure Indiana and all Hoosiers are healthy and safe,” GiaQuinta said.
Holcomb called his plan “one of the most forward-looking” in the country, saying the long-term outlook would incentivize Hoosiers to act safely. With cases plateauing, Holcomb said, health care facilities aren’t overwhelmed, positioning the state to reopen.
“We’re in a position where we can accommodate that (coronavirus caseload) right now. What we don’t want to do is open it up all at once and then be rushed and then find ourselves playing catch-up,” Holcomb said, adding that public health experts warned of a second wave in the fall.
“We’re focused on the numbers on the ground right now, and so I’ll continue to be completely dependent on the experts,” the governor added.