LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb urged Hoosiers living in COVID-19 “hotspots” to stay home, although he stopped short of saying he’s looking broadening his stay-at-home order to include trips to other states.
Holcomb’s remarks came a day after the chief medical officer at Baptist Health Floyd in New Albany dubbed Floyd County a “hotspot” for the respiratory illness. Dr. Jayakrishnakamal Konijeti said at least 50 people have tested positive and hundreds more tests are pending; official state data says there are 21 positive cases in the county.
Konijeti said he and Floyd County's health officer Dr. Tom Harris are concerned that residents aren’t taking Holcomb’s order to stay home seriously.
“I would just ask anyone who is in a hotspot right now – don’t be traveling,” Holcomb said. “Self-isolate yourself and push back the travel to a different time.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear issued an order Monday directing Kentuckians not to travel to other states, including Indiana, except for limited reasons such as work. Holcomb said he’s in routine contact with Beshear and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, but he isn’t considering a similar ban for Hoosiers.
“We’ve shared thoughts concerning travel, etc., but we’re not looking at that at this time in Indiana,” he said.
In a wide-ranging online briefing from Indianapolis, Holcomb said he plans to update the state’s timeline for school closures in the next two days, a move that may determine whether students will return to their classrooms any time soon.
Holcomb said he and Jennifer McCormick, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, would make an announcement in the next 48 hours. The governor has ordered schools closed until May 1.
Public health officials believe Indiana is about to have a surge in COVID-19 cases, with peak infections between mid-April and mid-May. Holcomb cautioned that a decision on reopening schools and easing restrictions on businesses likely be made some time after new cases start to drop.
“What we don’t want to do is be premature about reflexively jumping back after we hit that peak and come down and appear to be,” he said. “Because you’ve seen around the world that it’ll slope back up again.”
He said “the numbers will drive when we make these decisions.”
Those broader decisions also will depend on the state of Indiana’s health care systems, said Dr. Kristina Box, Indiana’s state health commissioner.
“We may need to give our hospital systems some time to recuperate, to make sure they’ve been able to replenish their PPE (personal protective equipment), that our health care personnel are able to get a break in the action,” she said.
“So we would not want to release anything too soon and then have another large surge into the hospital system right at a time when they’re trying to recover.”
Indiana announced 373 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 2,159. There were 14 new deaths reported.
Box said health officials expect about 20% of those diagnosed with COVID-19 will become “significantly ill” and could need to be hospitalized. Based on current positive cases, that amounts to about 432 people.
Of those who become seriously ill, she said about 5% will become “critically ill” and need intensive care treatment, including intubation. That would be about 22 people under current case numbers.
Box said COVID-19 tests at the state’s laboratory and are reported within 24 hours, but many tests of people who are not high-risk or hospitalized are done by “backlogged” private labs such as LabCorp and Quest.
Other highlights of Tuesday's briefing:
- Holcomb issued an executive order extending requirements for restaurants, bars and nightclubs to remain closed to dine-in service through April 6, but can keep providing take-out and delivery
- Box said there are no preliminary locations for possible field hospitals that may open to house patients if hospitals are overwhelmed. The state is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on those plans.
- Holcomb said he is not considering a rent or mortgage moratorium for now
- Box said there is"very limited evidence" about using hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine to prevent COVID-19. She urged Hoosiers not to hoard the drugs, noting that they're used for other patients.
Reach reporter Marcus Green at 502-585-0825, mgreen@wdrb.com, on Twitter or on Facebook. Copyright 2020 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.
