GREENFIELD — Like many people around the state, Gov. Eric Holcomb and his family have begun contemplating the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and wondering how they’ll be able to gather to give thanks while staying safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Whatever it is, it’ll have to fit within the safe guidelines,” Holcomb said, adding that he planned to spend time with his family over the holiday while maintaining social distancing if necessary. “This year has been more distant from immediate family than any other year in my life.”
With the holidays approaching, many experts — from those at the World Health Organization to Hancock County health officer Dr. Sandra Aspy — are warning of “pandemic fatigue.” Many people, they say, did not expect to be dealing with COVID-19 for this long and are feeling less motivated to follow restrictions or simply no longer care, as Aspy said, “to protect the vulnerable.”
That could be contributing to the surging numbers of COVID-19 cases many communities are seeing, with Hancock County reporting its two highest daily infection totals of the entire pandemic just this week and statewide infections also steeply increasing.
Holcomb was interviewed by the Daily Reporter by phone on Friday afternoon, Oct. 23. He said it is important that Hoosiers not feel isolated, even as COVID-19 numbers rise, making it even more crucial for people to stay, physically, some distance apart.
“We don’t want folks to be socially not connected, we just want the physical space,” he said.
That fine line is a difficult proposition, as illustrated by Holcomb’s reelection campaign. Both of the Republican governor’s opponents — Democrat Woody Myers and Libertarian Donald Rainwater — have vigorously disagreed with Holcomb’s executive orders restricting movement and mandating masks. Myers says Holcomb hasn’t done enough to protect Hoosiers. Rainwater says he’s done too much and should let people make their own decisions about staying safe. A number of Republicans agree.
Regardless, cases of COVID-19 have been rising, both in Hancock County and around Indiana.
The Indiana State Department of Health reported 23 new COVID-19 cases for Hancock County Friday, the county’s second-highest amount reported in a single day. Twenty-two of the cases were confirmed on Thursday and one on Wednesday, according to the state health department’s online COVID-19 dashboard.
The dashboard also revised the number of cases reported for Hancock County on Wednesday, Oct. 21, to 24, down from the 28 originally reported. Despite the reduction, it was still the most cases for the county in a single day.
Another correction on the dashboard Friday removed a COVID-19 death from Hancock County’s total, reducing that number to 44. Dr. Sandra Aspy, Hancock County Health officer, said the person who had died was determined not to be a Hancock County resident.
Meanwhile, the state reported 2,519 new positive cases on Friday, from results confirmed Oct. 20-22, and 27 new deaths, which took place from Sept. 8 to Oct. 22. A total of 3,858 deaths are confirmed to have been caused by COVID-19, with another 234 having the virus as the probable cause.
Although the numbers are higher than they were at the start of the pandemic, Holcomb said the state is in many ways better off now.
“Now we have our PPE inventory in strong and solid shape. We do have the ability to care for those who are in need of care,” he said.
The intervening months have also shown, Holcomb said, that there is a safe way to conduct many activities that require large groups to share a space, including in-person schooling. Based on data he’s received from around the state, he said, schools are identifying cases quickly and community spread isn’t occurring inside their buildings.
“With all the loss that’s occurred, there is more than hope out there — there’s opportunity,” he said.
The governor and state health experts, including health commissioner Dr. Kristinia Box, have said officials in counties with rising rates of COVID-19 infection should be closely consulting with local health departments and should consider imposing more stringent restrictions than those at the state level.
It’s unlikely that will happen in Hancock County, where all three county commissioners signed a letter to Holcomb’s office in July objecting to the imposition of a statewide mask mandate. Local law enforcement has declined to enforce the mandate, which does not carry a criminal penalty, and the commissioners have expressed opposition to the continuation of any restrictions.
Holcomb said the state government should be continually working with hospitals and county health departments to provide “the most up-to-date and accurate information” about the pandemic, and should be working with local governments to provide help and encouragement without imposing policies for local response.
However, he didn’t rule out the possibility of future county-specific restrictions. If communities develop very high levels of community spread that put a strain on health care resources, as has been seen recently in Evansville and in Cass County, the state will get involved. In those cases, that meant being on the ground providing help and monitoring hospital capacity, but it could mean local restrictions.
“That’s the last thing we want to do,” Holcomb said — but it is a possibility, and it was used early in the pandemic when Marion County imposed stricter restrictions than the rest of the state.
Holcomb said it is essential for Indiana residents to continue maintaining social distancing and other COVID-19 safety protocols, like wearing masks in public, and it will continue to be until vaccines and therapies that treat the virus are available. If people are struggling with the emotional and mental health impact of that, they should reach out rather than attempting to deal with it alone.
“It’s somewhat inspirational and encouraging to know that we’re all going through this same thing together,” he said.
Holcomb will debate his rivals in the 2020 gubernatorial election, Democrat Woody Myers and Libertarian Donald Rainwater, for a second time on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Like the first debate, the event will be closed to the public but will be livestreamed online and carried by TV stations.
Mitchell Kirk of the Daily Reporter contributed to this story.
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Southern Hancock is set to bring students back for in-person learning after a week of at-home study. Page A5
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COVID-19 data through early Friday, Oct. 23
Hancock County
229 new tests administered
23 new cases
6% seven-day positivity rate all tests (Oct. 10-16), 4.3% cumulative rate
0 new deaths
28,368 total tests administered
1,199 total positive cases
9.4% seven-day positivity rate unique individuals (Oct. 10-16), 6.3% cumulative rate
44 total deaths
Indiana
31,338 new tests administered (May 28-Oct. 22)
11,575 new individuals tested
2,519 new positive cases (Oct. 20-22)
6.9% seven-day positivity rate all tests (Oct 10-16), 5.8% cumulative rate
27 new deaths (Sept. 8-Oct. 22)
2,642,522 total tests administered
1,605,596 total individuals tested
157,713 total positive cases
13% seven-day positivity rate unique individuals (Oct. 10-16), 9.8% cumulative rate
3,858 total deaths
234 probable deaths
49% ICU beds in use – non-COVID
20.2% ICU beds in use – COVID
30.8% ICU beds available
16.7% ventilators in use – non-COVID
5.4% ventilators in use – COVID
77.9% ventilators available
1,548 COVID-19 patients hospitalized
Source: Indiana State Department of Health
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