Masks to be mandated

INDIANAPOLIS — A mask mandate is being implemented statewide.

Jay School Board will be meeting to make adjustments to its reopening policy.

Indiana will have a statewide face mask mandate starting next week, joining many other states in the attempt to slow the coronavirus spread, Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday. Following that announcement, Jay Schools superintendent Jeremy Gulley said the corporation will be working to reopen its online-only option and the school board will meet to review the governor’s order and address its implications on school operations.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued a similar statewide mask order Wednesday that will go into effect at 6 p.m. tonight. The state had already mandated masks in 19 counties because of their high number of cases of COVID-19.

“We know that the wearing of masks … will in fact make a difference,” said DeWine. “Doing this in those counties where the threat level is lower at the current point makes sense. It is essential that we wear masks statewide in Ohio to prevent the spread of the virus.

“The wearing of the mask, plus the social distancing, makes a huge, huge difference.”

Holcomb’s decision to mandate masks came two days after Jay School Board approved its plan to reopen schools as scheduled Aug. 12 with masks recommended but not required.

Gulley said Wednesday afternoon that reopening the online option was part of his contingency plan if circumstances changed. He noted the impact of community surveys in making that decision. In a survey taken by nearly 900 respondents last month, 87.4% said they felt masks should be optional rather than mandatory. A May survey showed that 38% said they would not send their students back to school if masks were required.

As of the initial July 15 deadline for students to sign up for the online option, 8% had done so.

“The unknown now is what will that demand look like,” said Gulley. “(The mask mandate) raises a lot of questions about capacity and staffing.”

He added that administrators will be taking time to review the new requirements.

The order will apply to anyone ages 8 and older in any indoor public or business areas and at outdoor public spaces when sufficient distancing can’t be maintained. It will take effect Monday.

Holcomb said a renewed growth in the number of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations across Indiana necessitated the mask order after he had started easing business and travel restrictions in early May.

Holcomb said his order will also require masks in schools for grades three and above by students, teachers and other employees.

“I think it’s a step that’ll help prevent community spread across the State of Indiana and in Jay County,” said environmentalist and administrator for Jay County Health Department Heath Butz, adding that he’ll be working with the school corporation on implementing the new mandate.

Holcomb added he did not want Indiana to have to follow other states and restore business restrictions that had been lifted in the past couple of months.

Jay County Commissioners president Chuck Huffman said Wednesday that he would be consulting with county attorney Bill Hinkle as to whether the county needs to take any action regarding the new order.

Our policy or practice all along has been to follow the state’s lead,” he said.

Coronavirus hospitalizations jumped by 66 to 869 as of Tuesday — a figure that plunged beginning in mid-April but has curved back up since late June, according to the state health department.

Indiana’s ICU cases grew by 61 people to 328 Tuesday, up from the low 200s two weeks earlier.

Health officials also reported 17 more deaths of those with confirmed or presumed COVID-19 infections, raising the state’s death toll to 2,863 since mid-March.

Jay County’s case total has remained low, coming in at 73 in Wednesday’s state department of health report. The county has had 23 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the last 54 days, an average of 0.42 cases per day.

That’s down from the county’s average of 1.23 cases per day from May 4 (when stay-at-home restrictions began being lifted) and when the 50th case was confirmed May 28.

“Jay County’s fared pretty well as far as positive cases are concerned,” Jay County health department administrator/environmentalist Heath Butz told commissioner, noting that the last confirmed case came July 18.

“We haven’t had that many in the past couple weeks,” he added

The percentage of positive tests locally has also gone down significantly. Through the end of May, about 10.8% of Jay County residents who were tested had come back positive. That number is now 5.7%.

Jay County has yet to have a death from COVID-19.

Marion County (Indianapolis) continues to lead the state with 13,094 confirmed cases, more than twice as many as any other county. In the Jay County area, case totals are as follows: Delaware County (518), Mercer County (379), Darke County (271), Wells County (103), Randolph County (85), Adams County (63) and Blackford County (45).

Before Wednesday’s mandate from Holcomb, the cities of Indianapolis, Evansville, South Bend, Gary, Bloomington and West Lafayette had already imposed mask mandates.

Holcomb repeated his support for allowing fans to attend the rescheduled Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which released a safety plan Wednesday for the Aug. 23 race.

A couple hundred people attended a weekend protest at the Statehouse against mask mandates and other restrictions imposed since the coronavirus outbreak swept across the country in March.

Holcomb pointed to President Donald Trump’s description of mask wearing as “patriotic” this week in defending his decision. He also said while violating the mask order was potentially a misdemeanor crime, the “mask police will not be patrolling Hoosier streets.”

Holcomb urged an end to the “cavalier behavior” by many people of not wearing face coverings when in crowded places.

“This is nothing that I wanted to do,” he said. “This is not about what I want to do or wished would be. This is what the reality is.”