ANDERSON — Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said the state is monitoring an increase in the number of coronavirus cases, but is not ready to roll back to a lower stage of reopening the economy.
Holcomb was in Anderson on Friday for an interview with The Herald Bulletin at the Lemon Drop.
He said Indiana is not at the point to roll back from Stage 5 in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re in a different phase altogether than we were in March, April or July,” Holcomb said. “We do have PPE (personal protection equipment) stockpiled on hand and are adding to it every day. We have the pipeline to make the decisions to send masks to areas where it’s needed.”
He said the state is looking at hospitals to discern how many people are taking up flu and COVID-19 beds and other traumas.
“We’re tracking everything from an EMS perspective every day at every hospital,” Holcomb said. “We’re also watching what our flu rate is this year as compared to last year and the year before.
“Masks are helping on that level,” he added. “As things get colder and people come inside, we’re going to have to be nimble enough to get resources where needed and give the locals the data they need before the state comes in.”
Holcomb said there are surges in different parts of Indiana and the problem has different origins.
“We will continue to work with the local officials and health departments to bring the surge down,” he said. “All the spread is local. If you think the state is going to slow the spread, those are local decisions.”
Holcomb’s two opponents for governor are taking different stances on the mandatory mask requirement. Democrat Woody Myers believes a mandate should have penalties attached to the order. Libertarian Donald Rainwater believes it should be an individual’s choice on wearing a mask.
“We do have a mandatory mask requirement,” he said. “There are different extremes, but you can’t govern by extremes. There is a school of thought that I should be able to do whatever I want. A person’s behavior affects someone else.”
Holcomb said if 100% of the people were practicing good medical safety measures perhaps a statewide mandate wouldn’t be needed.
“Businesses want the state to have a policy and they can enforce the right thing,” he said. “What the state has to do is have a common policy. We have a mask mandate and work with local communities.”
Concerning the state’s economy, Holcomb said Indiana is faring better than other states.
He said in 2016 through the Indiana Economic Development Corp. there were 20,320 job commitments.
“We’re over 26,000 in the middle of a global pandemic,” Holcomb said. “We have seen $5 billion in capital investment this year. That is not happening around the country.
“The real urgency for me during the pandemic is, how do we skill people up to fill those jobs?” he said. “People are getting hired.”
Holcomb said when the nation gets through the pandemic, Indiana will be in a strong position through its workforce development efforts.
“There are states losing jobs and not replacing them and a handful of states that are gaining jobs,” he said.
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