All those warnings that gatherings of people could send COVID-19 cases soaring are proving valid. And, Gov. Eric Holcomb’s September decision to reopen Indiana’s economy — based on the premise that Hoosiers would not revert to pre-coronavirus routines — has backfired.
As a second, broader wave of the pandemic now washes through the state, it is clear that local officials must now assume the central leadership role in the effort to slow spread of the virus.
Lives can be saved by rapid, coordinated actions to monitor the public’s adherence to health guidelines. Some level of enforcement, a step the governor has resisted, is necessary, given the soaring infections. That task falls to local officials.
Anyone doubting the necessity of stronger compliance by everyone should review the situation today.
The fall surge of the relentless coronavirus pandemic, foretold by public health physicians and scientists, is unfolding in the Wabash Valley. Schools are returning to at-home remote learning. Union Hospital is “busting at the seams” as COVID-19 cases have nearly doubled, stretching its staff. Vigo County government buildings are closing to the public, indefinitely. National Guard members are assisting with tasks in nursing homes, relieving exhausted staff. The county has signed a contract with a refrigerated semi-trailer firm, according to Commissioner Brendan Kearns’ Facebook page, should they be needed.
Forget the bogus political conspiracy theories. This predicament is real. It is no hoax.
On Wednesday, Holcomb scrapped Stage 5 and replaced it with county-by-county restrictions, based on local positivity rates, coded by color. Indoor gatherings are limited to 25 or fewer people in red-level counties, and 50 or fewer in orange counties. Parke, Sullivan, Vigo and Vermillion counties were orange and Clay County was red, as of Friday. Organizers of gatherings beyond those limits must have their events reviewed by, yes, local health departments.
Enforcement by the state of those restrictions amounts to turning up the volume on public awareness of health protocols. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission will back local health departments and officials in cases of noncompliance, which could result in a business closing, according to Holcomb’s latest executive order.
Holcomb is diverting $20 million in state funds for public education and to cover the costs of local government oversight of businesses’ compliance with face-mask and social-distancing mandates. The funds will also help local health departments review those above-the-limit plans for events. Local health departments also can limit the hours of operations for bars and restaurants, if a community chooses.
The goal of Holcomb’s “Back On Track Indiana” plan was to safely reopen businesses and schools, as Hoosiers learned to build the masking, distancing, hygiene and stay-home-when-sick practices into their lives, voluntarily. The plan had too many gaps.
Congregations of people — from bars to churches, weddings and birthday parties — have resulted in cases spiking.
“Rather than doing the things that we had been doing that allowed us to open our restaurants and shops and museums and attractions to full capacity, while maintaining social distancing and wearing mask coverings, too many have said, ‘We’ll just ride it out. And if I get it, so be it,’” Holcomb said at his weekly COVID-19 update Wednesday. “And that brings us to where we’re at today.”
This turning point puts local government on center stage.
A coordinated strategy for November from Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett and the Vigo County commissioners would provide direct support for the Vigo County Health Department, which has shouldered the central role of the community’s pandemic response. The state has given local governments the latitude to implement stricter public guidelines. Several communities have done so. Vigo County should, too.
The crisis will worsen if people gather in traditional ways for Thanksgiving, just 13 days away.
The harsh reality is that Thanksgiving should be celebrated among members of an immediate household, public health officials say. Any larger gatherings, which are not advised, should happen outdoors. “We don’t want the surge to get worse because we ignored all of our precautions over Thanksgiving,” said Indiana health commissioner Dr. Kris Box.
The White House is an inept nonfactor in the on-the-ground crisis response. Congress has failed to provide an additional round of needed relief for businesses, displaced workers and struggling families. The state has gone as far as it will go, apparently.
So, it has come down to local leaders, individual Hoosiers and their businesses and households to keep this virus from damaging more lives. Communities must respond strongly.
© 2024 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.