GREENFIELD — When Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the imminent end of Indiana’s mask mandate, he specified that local governments were free to continue with more restrictive policies. However, Hancock County residents shouldn’t expect to see COVID-19 safety policies continue once the governor’s order expires next week, the county commissioners said.
At the most recent meeting of the Hancock County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, March 30, health officials Dr. Gary Sharp of the Hancock County Health Department and Dr. Julia Compton of the Hancock Physicians Network urged the commissioners to consider extending a local mask mandate and other precautions for an additional two to four weeks. At that time, they said, more community members would be vaccinated and it would be safer to drop the provisions.
“Medically, yes, from an ideal perspective, we’d push that timeline out just a little bit longer,” Compton said. “We know that vaccinations are going to open up rapidly within the next two weeks.”
President Joe Biden has asked that governors and other public officials keep mask mandates in place for the time being. After Holcomb announced last week that the state mask mandate would become a more lenient advisory starting on April 6, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky appealed to Holcomb to keep the mandate in place.
Sharp, the county’s public health officer, reported that the county health department is vaccinating approximately 200 people each day. Hancock Regional Hospital’s clinic is vaccinating about 500 people a day but will be prepared to accommodate 750 patients in coming weeks as demand grows, Craig Felty, vice president, chief nursing officer and chief operating at HRH, said Wednesday.
Compton told commissioners the hospital was not treating any COVID-19 patients on Tuesday, and case numbers in general have remained low.
The county recorded 16 new cases in data released Wednesday by the state health department.
Compton said she did not want to make the issue a political one and was open to talking with the commissioners about finding the best way to move forward with a unified message. The commissioners, however, expressed continued reluctance to impose any restrictions related to COVID-19. The board sent a letter to Holcomb last summer, when the mask mandate was first introduced, objecting to the policy and saying they believed county governments should have control over the issue. They did not receive a reply.
“We’ve had to do what the governor’s told us for the last 14 months, and I’ve never agreed with him on the mask mandate,” Jessup said. “So if in his omnipotent wisdom he thinks it’s time to stop having a mask mandate, I’m going to keep just going along with him,” Commissioner John Jessup said.
When the mask mandate expires on April 6, Holcomb said businesses will be free to decide for themselves whether to continue requiring face coverings on their premises. Masks will still be required in schools through the end of the academic year and in government facilities.
Additionally, patrons at restaurants, bars and clubs will no longer be required to remain seated. Six feet of social distancing between tables is still recommended but will not be enforced.
Commissioner Marc Huber added that he believes the impact of stay-at-home orders and other COVID-19 protocols on issues like mental health and addiction may be seen in the long term as worse than the virus itself. Huber said the economic impact on local businesses should also be an important factor.
Throughout the pandemic, the commissioners have generally not worn masks at public meetings or required speakers at their meetings to wear them. At the most recent meeting, Jessup expressed continued skepticism about the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he has not contracted the disease despite rarely wearing a face covering or practicing social distancing.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Hancock County has tallied a total of 136 COVID-19 deaths. Indiana as a whole has recorded 12,633 deaths.
On Wednesday, Hancock County remained at the “yellow” advisory level in the state’s four-tier metric for measuring community spread of COVID-19. That indicates moderate community spread of the virus and is the second-lowest rating.
“A lot of people have lost their lives to it and lost loved ones, and that’s tragic,” Huber said. “But I don’t know where you draw the line and when enough’s enough. If we say we’re going to extend it for another two weeks, will you come back in and say we need to extend it another two weeks? At what point do we rip the Band-Aid off?”
Dr. Sandra Aspy, the former head of the county health department, also spoke at the meeting as a private citizen, although she is no longer affiliated with the department. Aspy said the county should continue to follow the recommendations of medical professionals and the county’s COVID-19 data.
“I think if we had an intersection where 135 people had died, we’d all look at it and say, ‘What do the engineers say? Is it safe to reopen it? Where are we with the data and the numbers and the traffic statistics and so on?’” Aspy said. “I strongly encourage you to follow the recommendations of your medical community here.”
Sharp said the county would benefit from keeping safety protocols in place just a little longer, since vaccination appointments are now available to all Indiana residents age 16 or older.
“We’ve come so far; it doesn’t really make a lot of sense to walk away from it at this point,” he said.
Ultimately, the commissioners chose not to pass any resolutions relating to continued COVID-19 restrictions. Their next meeting will fall on Tuesday, April 6, the same day the state restrictions expire. Huber said the commissioners may revisit the matter at that meeting if they feel the need to change county policies.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Getting the vaccine” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
COVID-19 vaccinations in Indiana are currently available to:
Those age 16 and older
Health-care workers
First-responders
Educators and school support staff
Specific groups of patients at highest risk of severe illness from COVID-19 identified by their health care providers
Veterans who receive care at certain Veterans Affairs hospitals
For more information on eligibility, to sign up for a vaccine at state-supplied clinics and to access links to sign up at private pharmacies, visit ourshot.in.gov. Assistance for signing up at state-supplied sites is also available by calling 211.
In Hancock County, vaccines are available at clinics at Hancock Regional Hospital and the Hancock County Health Department. Shots also are available at Meijer in McCordsville and at Kroger and Walmart in Greenfield.
[sc:pullout-text-end]