A press conference was held at McHale Performing Arts Center on Monday Morning regarding Cass County's battle with COVID-19. Speakers were, left to right, Cass County Commissioners President Dr Ralph Anderson, Mayor Chris Martin, Serenity Alter of the Cass County Health Department, Dr Dori Ditty and Logansport Memorial Hospital CEO Perry Gay. Staff photo by Tony Walters.
Tyra Bahney and Kevin Burkett, Pharos-Tribune staff
Mayor Chris Martin has declared an executive order for Cass County that began at noon today.
The announcement came during a joint press conference among representatives of the City of Logansport, Cass County Commissioners, the Cass County Health Department and Logansport Memorial Hospital that was held at McHale Performing Arts Center and streamed live starting at 11 a.m.
Meanwhile, officials are still pouring over the latest data on the number of positive tests in Cass County for COVID-19. The Indiana State Department of Health's latest data shows 1,025 reported cases in Cass County, but officials fear that number will increase dramatically after complete results of tests taken at Tyson Food's Logansport plant are confirmed.
The following directives go into effect under Martin's executive order, which County Commissioner's President Dr. Ralph Anderson confirmed will extend to all of Cass County:
• Only one person per family will be allowed into shopping markets and other essential businesses that remain open.
• All persons are asked to wear a mask covering their nose and mouth upon entering a business. Anderson also said that business owners may prohibit entrance of customers not wearing face masks into their establishments.
• Children under 16 years of age are not allowed into any businesses.
• No more than 2 people per 1,000 square feet of retail space are permitted at one time in an establishment. This number is capped at 125 people for businesses with more than 62,000 square feet of space. If the establishment has less than 5,000 square feet of retail space, up to five customers may be allowed inside at the same time. Anderson noted that businesses with an outside area that has its own payment processing may be considered two businesses for the purpose of calculating the acceptable number of patrons allowed at one time.
• Drive-thru, curbside pickup and delivery food services will still be allowed to operate.
• A person who intentionally, knowingly or recklessly violates the executive order commits a class B misdemeanor under Indiana code.
• An increased law enforcement presence will monitor and assist in enforcing the orders.
• The elderly and high-risk persons are strongly encouraged to avoid all public gatherings and minimize all travel to the maximum extent possible.
• All previous order remain in effect.
Logansport Memorial Hospital CEO Perry Gay said that the latest surge has the potential of overwhelming the hospital.
"Our hospital has been preparing for this surge for weeks," Gay said. "However, with this surge in possible cases and the numbers that we are seeing, if we just saw 5-10 percent of those possible cases needing critical care, we would be overwhelmed. Our hospital is not equipped with enough staff or resources to care for numbers like this."
Gay added that some non-COVID-19 patients may need to be sent elsewhere for treatment, should the hospital experience an overwhelming influx of patients.
"As a result, we have worked with other facilities who stand ready to assist ... at this time, individuals with illnesses or injuries other than COVID-19 may be sent or transferred for care to hospitals in our surrounding counties."
It is unclear whether any additional travel restrictions are being put in place.
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