Indiana Gov. Eric HolcombIndiana 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.
The order applies 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. The order will take effect Monday.
Holcomb said his order also requires masks in schools for grades 3 and above by students, teachers, and other employees.
Holcomb said a renewed growth in the number of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations necessitated the mask order. He said he did not want Indiana to have to follow other states and restore business restrictions that had been lifted in the past couple months.
A fresh increase in Indiana’s hospitalizations for coronavirus infections was reported Wednesday by state health officials, keeping that figure stubbornly higher than what it was weeks ago.
The number of people with COVID-19 being treated in Indiana’s intensive care units also has grown to about 50 percent more than earlier this month soon after Gov. Eric Holcomb cited concerns about additional cases in delaying any steps toward lifting restrictions on businesses and crowd sizes.
Click here to read the Associated Press story published in the Goshen News.
Holcomb, who had declined to join other governors in issuing a statewide mask order, is scheduled to discuss the state’s coronavirus response during a Wednesday afternoon news briefing.
