Indiana's escalation in COVID-19 cases continued Tuesday using more than 5,500 new cases.
It marked the seventh day in a row in Indiana in which the daily total exceeded 5,000. More than 80 new deaths were also reported.
Cases have raised on every metric since Gov. Eric Holcomb pushed the state into Stage 5 of reopening Sept. 26. Holcomb lifted almost all coronavirus restrictions, allowing bars, restaurants, gyms along with other indoor venues to function at full capacity.
The seven-day moving average of daily cases went from 856 to nearly 6,200 in that time. Hospitalizations and average daily deaths have tripled. Last Friday, their state reached its all-time a lot of 8,307 new cases.
“The state's seven-day rolling average continues to be the highest in the last 7 days associated with a point in the pandemic,” said Floyd County Health Officer Dr. Tom Harris inside a video released Tuesday. “We have certainly seen a marked increase in the amount of cases here in Floyd County. Additionally, the situation totals have doubled every week in Indiana for the last four weeks.”
After taking no action despite weeks of uncontrolled spread throughout Indiana, Holcomb announced last week their state would adopt a color-coded map system and reinstate some restrictions. Basically five from the state's 92 counties currently fall into the orange and red categories, which indicate high community spread.
Red counties, based on the new executive order that went into effect Sunday, must limit social gatherings to 25 people. Only parents and participants are permitted to attend indoor sporting and extra-curricular events for grades K-12. Orange counties can have gatherings as high as 50 people and 25% capacity in school events.
Events which will exceed the permitted limits should be approved by local health departments. Religious services are exempt from the limits in the executive order.
The map will be updated Wednesday, and Harris said Floyd County is “closing in” around the red category. Clark County Health Officer Dr. Eric Yazel said in a Facebook post Sunday that it's likely his county will enter the red zone, too.
While the statewide order doesn't apply percentage-based capacity limits to bars and restaurants, Harris released his own group of local restrictions Tuesday. Bars in Floyd County must close at 10 p.m. every night, and restaurants must decrease seating capacity to 75%. The order will remain in effect until Dec. 21.
COVID-19 cases in Floyd County, like the rest of Indiana, have raised since moving into Stage 5 about seven weeks ago. The 7-day moving average for daily cases has increased by 370% for the reason that time. Hospitalizations in Indiana's District 9 health zone, which includes Clark and Floyd counties, have doubled since Halloween.
Harris said positivity rates for individuals 18 and younger have nearly doubled within the first couple of weeks of November. That figure can be 14.73%, up from October's average of 8.09%,
To combat the local spread, New Albany Floyd County Schools (NAFCS) are shifting to e-learning. The college system has used a hybrid learning model since the start of the semester. Students will begin virtual classes Friday and continue through the end of the semester. Intensive intervention students are exempt from the switch and can still receive direct services.
Superintendent Brad Snyder said he's proud that NAFCS has held a lot more than Two months of in-person classes, noting that many districts across the nation have experienced none.
“But at the same time, in the last few weeks, there's just no doubt the increase with the virus's presence has already established an impact on us,” he explained in a video released Tuesday. “We've had significant increasing numbers of positive cases with our students and our staff. More importantly, the number of quarantines which are necessary to mitigate which has impacted us dramatically.”
Community utilization of school facilities can also be postponed until next year. Senior high school sports continues based on the statewide color-coded restrictions.
