Quick update: Masks available for June 2 voters, blood drive details dialed in for June 23

Monroe County in-person voting sites on June 2 will have masks available for voters who want to wear one. And the details for a June 23 blood drive at the Monroe County convention are now set. Appointments can be made for times between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Monroe County convention center.

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Screen shot of May 29, 2020 press conference with local leaders, conducted on Zoom. Highlighted on the screen is Monroe County’s emergency management director, Allison Moore.

Those two items were among the news nuggets passed along by Monroe County’s director of emergency management, Allison Moore, at Friday’s weekly press conference on COVID-19 response issues.

On Friday, Moore reported that the county is expecting next week another drop of personal protection equipment (PPE)—like masks, gloves and sanitizer—from the state’s department of homeland security.

She also said that 1,000 surgical masks had been delivered to Monroe County’s Election Central, to be distributed to voters who want to vote in person. The state’s election division had earlier provided every county with some PPE to equip election staff, but not voters. Continue reading “Quick update: Masks available for June 2 voters, blood drive details dialed in for June 23”

Monroe County synched up with governor’s order except: Mass gatherings still limited to 50

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Screen grab from May 29, 2020 press conference of local Bloomington and Monroe County officials. 

The latest COVID-19-related order from Monroe County’s health officer, Thomas Sharp, issued on Thursday and effective starting Saturday, matches the requirements for Indiana governor Eric Holcomb’s current order, except for one.

The one exception: In Monroe County, mass gatherings are still limited to 50 people Under the governor’s order, mass gatherings can go up to 100.

Monroe County’s order lasts through June 15.

At Friday afternoon’s press conference, Monroe County’s health administrator, Penny Caudill, described the local order as “carving out” the one difference on mass gatherings.

When Holcomb issued his first “Back on Track” order, Monroe County’s local order maintained all the precautions up to then for another couple of weeks. Local orders can be stricter, but not more lenient than the governor’s order. Continue reading “Monroe County synched up with governor’s order except: Mass gatherings still limited to 50”