LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Indiana reported 4,714 new COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the state's total confirmed infections to 200,823.
Thirty-seven more Hoosiers have died from the coronavirus, according to a news release from the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH).
"It just shows that you take your foot off the gas as far as the restrictions go, and you pay the price," Clark County Health Officer Dr. Eric Yazel said.
In downtown Jeffersonville, The Red Yeti is still limiting customers.
"They said full capacity but still six feet," said Nick Nevels, manager of the restaurant. "But for us, you just can't do both. If we have someone sick in here, we're probably going to have to close the place. So we need to do everything we can to keep us open."
Down the street, Schimpff's Confectionary also made the call to open at half capacity.
"This is the kind of place that children love and older people love," co-owner Jill Schimpff said. "It's catastrophic on so many levels that you can't be the same Jolly Old St. Nick, but you try your best to make it the best Christmas people can have."
Customers use a central table for orders, and they're not allowed to travel between buildings, entering through separate doors.
It's been a year unlike any other for the 129-year-old business. Sales are down 40%.
"We're having to make difficult decisions: what to offer, what to make and how much," co-owner Warren Schimpff said. "We're hoping that the Christmas season won't follow suit to that, and we just don't know what to expect."
Sales are starting to climb as the candy shop enters into the holiday season.
However, Yazel expects cases to go up as well.
"Really, we want to focus on individual, personal responsibility, good decision-making," he said.
Starting at 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, downtown Jeffersonville is closing a portion of Spring Street to traffic so businesses can expand and social distance, and pedestrians can freely walk up and down the street. The city said depending on how it goes this weekend, they'll decide if it's something they'll do again.
Since March, the state has reported 4,306 deaths in which the virus was a contributing factor.
To date, 1,777,105 tests have been reported to ISDH, up from 1,761,947 on Thursday. A total of 3,117,069 tests, including repeat tests for unique individuals, have been reported to the state Department of Health since Feb. 26.
To find testing locations, visit www.coronavirus.in.gov and click on the COVID-19 testing information tab. More than 200 locations are available around the state.
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