Order update coming today

INDIANAPOLIS — Any easing of Indiana’s statewide stay-at-home order won’t limit the authority of city or county officials from imposing tighter restrictions in their attempts to slow the coronavirus that is blamed in the deaths of at least 1,000 across the state, the governor said Thursday.

About 57,000 more people applied for unemployment benefits in Indiana last week as the state continues to see record numbers of newly jobless people stemming from the COVID-19 economic slowdown.



Statewide order

Gov. Eric Holcomb is poised to announce modifications today to the business and travel directives that have been in place since March 25 as a growing number of states are loosening their shutdown orders.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and Dr. Virginia Caine of Marion County Public Health Department announced plans today to extend Marion County’s stay-at-home restrictions through May 15, the Indianapolis Star reported.

The Indianapolis stay-at-home order will continue until at least May 15, including a ban on dine-in service at restaurants and the closure of nonessential businesses such as movie theaters, fitness centers and hair salons.

“It’s clear from talking to state leaders and community stakeholders that the challenges we face here in Indianapolis are unique — a city filled with large venues, densely populated neighborhoods and active business centers. To ensure that we see continued progress in our fight against this virus, we must recommit to our social distancing efforts even as we plan for the future,” Hogsett said in a statement. “I appreciate Governor Holcomb’s partnership as he and his team continue to address the diverse needs of Hoosier communities.”

Holcomb said he supported Hogsett’s decision and that the new state order wouldn’t strip away local authority.

“Local jurisdictions can always be stricter than what we have said,” Holcomb said. “This has been the case, not just once, in the state of Indiana. We’ll seek to 100% of the time work with those local officials.”

Holcomb spoke Thursday from Kokomo, where he joined Vice President Mike Pence in touring a General Motors electronics plant that’s been converted to produce critical care ventilators for hospitals around the country.

Holcomb said his changes to statewide restrictions will come in stages, but did not provide any details.

“This will not just be back to normal, or back to business as we used to do it,” Holcomb said. “This is going be very methodical.”



Case numbers

Indiana State Department of Health reported 669 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. It marked the eighth consecutive day that the state’s new case total has topped the 600 mark.

Indiana has seen its new case totals rise recently, hitting a high of 963 Monday. The state has averaged 678 new cases over the last eight days. Its average over the previous eight days was 489.

Indiana now has 17,835 confirmed cases of the disease caused by coronavirus.

The state also reported 44 new deaths from COVID-19, marking nine straight days that 25 or more deaths have been reported. The state’s total is now 1,007.

Ohio reported 724 new cases today, the state's highest mark since April 21. It now has a total of 18,027 cases.

Also Friday, Ohio reported 38 new deaths for a total of 975.

Jay County Health Department reported two additional cases Thursday, bringing its total to 17. Other area county case totals are as follows: Delaware (176), Darke (76), Mercer (21), Randolph (15), Blackford (eight), Adams (seven) and Wells (five).



Jobless jump

Federal statistics released Thursday show Indiana has had nearly 570,000 people seek jobless aid over the past six weeks. That growth in the unemployed since March 15 is more than five times greater than Indiana’s total of about 105,000 people seeking jobs in February.

More than 30 million people across the country have now filed for unemployment since coronavirus closures started and economists have forecast that the national unemployment rate for April could go as high as 20%.