Tag: mask mandate

Monroe County mask mandate likely to end whenever governor’s emergency order expires

Indiana governor Eric Holcomb’s current order declaring a health emergency for Indiana due to the COVID-19 pandemic will expire on March 4, if he doesn’t extend it for a 24th time.

If Holcomb doesn’t extend the order, Monroe County’s board of health members are now inclined to let the mask mandate expire with the governor’s order. That’s based on their discussion at the board of health’s Thursday meeting.

No vote was taken on a formal motion. Continue reading “Monroe County mask mandate likely to end whenever governor’s emergency order expires” →

COVID-19 update: Numbers hit plateau, vaccine clinics this week

After a steep climb starting in late 2021 going through mid-January, the number of positive COVID-19 cases in Monroe County and the state of Indiana appear to have plateaued and are starting to show signs of declining.

In Monroe County, the rolling 7-day average has stayed mostly under 290 cases per day for the last two weeks, after hitting 293 on Jan. 13.

The statewide hospital census of COVID-19 patients shows the same general trend, although the rise in cases has been smaller, compared to the total number of cases. Statewide, the rolling daily average census of patients who are hospitalized with the pandemic virus has declined for the last five days, after peaking at around 3,450 patients.

Based on numbers from Indiana’s pandemic dashboard, 75 percent of positive COVID-19 cases in the last four weeks were caused by the Omicron variant.

Vaccine clinics at two locations this week are being promoted by Monroe County’s public health department. Continue reading “COVID-19 update: Numbers hit plateau, vaccine clinics this week” →

Pandemic notebook: Mandate for face coverings remains for Monroe County, as board of health wants IU fans to play better mask-it-ball

At its meeting on Thursday, Monroe County’s board of health didn’t make any changes to the health regulations that are meant to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

That means the end of the county’s mask mandate is still tied to hitting a target of 50 positive cases per week per 100,000 people in the county. That target for Monroe County translates into an average of about 10 cases a day.

The county is currently sitting at a daily case average of nearly 4 times the target.

The mask mandate requires people to wear a mask in indoor public places, unless they are actively eating and drinking, among other exceptions.

In light of the current increasing trend for positive cases, board of health members saw no reason to relax the mask requirement. That increasing trend has seen the rolling 7-day daily average just about double in about the last four weeks.

On Oct. 23 the rolling daily average was around 19 cases. By Thursday, that figure had increased to about 37 cases per day.

Thursday’s board of health meeting included some criticism of the lack of mask wearing by fans of Indiana University basketball games, held at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Continue reading “Pandemic notebook: Mandate for face coverings remains for Monroe County, as board of health wants IU fans to play better mask-it-ball” →

Pandemic notebook: Monroe County coronavirus numbers stay stubborn

Monroe County positive case numbers for the COVID-19 virus are holding steady or maybe nudging upward over the last couple of weeks.

That’s consistent with statewide and nationwide trends.

According to CDC numbers, the daily rolling average of cases for the U.S. had decreased to 63,852 on Oct. 24, but is now back up to 73,218.

The daily rolling average for the state of Indiana is now back up to 2,186 after decreasing to 1,581 on Oct. 23.

For Monroe County, the daily rolling average got as low as about 19 on Oct. 23. But based on data reported through Thursday is back up to 25. That includes a 3-point drop, when the 50 cases reported last week on Thursday dropped out of the rolling 7-day average calculated for today.

Any possibility that Monroe County’s mask mandate would be lifted before Thanksgiving looks small. That’s because the numerical targets look out of reach. Continue reading “Pandemic notebook: Monroe County coronavirus numbers stay stubborn” →

Pandemic notebook: Another uptick in positive COVID-19 cases means no lifting of Monroe County mask mandate next week

The COVID-19 pandemic data that will be updated next Wednesday by Indiana’s state department of health will not show numbers low enough for the Monroe County mask mandate to be lifted.

Lifting the mask mandate next week is already a mathematical impossibility. That’s in part because the key statistic, on which next Wednesday’s announcement will be based, has already exceeded the threshold set by the county board of health. Continue reading “Pandemic notebook: Another uptick in positive COVID-19 cases means no lifting of Monroe County mask mandate next week” →

School files lawsuit against Monroe County over pandemic mask mandate citation

Seven Oaks Classical School is again challenging its citation for violation of the county’s indoor mask mandate, which is connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This time the challenge comes in papers filed with the Monroe County circuit court.

The county has enacted a mask regulation to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In August, the school was cited by the county for violation of the mask mandate and fined $250.

After hearing the school’s appeal, commissioners upheld the citation, but waived the fine.

In the action now filed with the circuit court, Seven Oaks is challenging the denial of its appeal.

The court challenge is based on three separate allegations, one of them that Monroe County commissioners violated Indiana’s Open Door Law. Continue reading “School files lawsuit against Monroe County over pandemic mask mandate citation” →

Monroe County hits one benchmark for pandemic cases, but far from trigger to lift mask mandate

This time last year, the county saw a dramatic increase in cases, associated with a major new wave. This year the trend is expected to continue downward, even if the decline is slow.

Sunday’s 14 positive COVID-19 cases for Monroe County contributed to a rolling 7-day average of 19.7 cases.

That’s good news, in terms of the state’s metrics for community disease spread. But it still leaves the county at about twice the number of daily cases needed for an automatic lifting of the indoor mask mandate.

The county’s board of health voted to extend the mask mandate at its meeting last week. The lifting of the mandate is not tied to a date, but to a specific benchmark.  That benchmark corresponds to a rolling 7-day average of 10.6 cases a day, which is about half the current number.

County commissioners are set to vote on the extension of the mask mandate at their regular Wednesday morning meeting. Continue reading “Monroe County hits one benchmark for pandemic cases, but far from trigger to lift mask mandate” →

Monroe County health board: Mask mandate to continue into November, tied to pandemic case numbers

Monroe County’s indoor mask mandate, for the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike, will continue into November and possibly even beyond—until the county’s positive COVID-19 case numbers drop to fewer than 50 cases per week per 100,000 residents.

That was the unanimous vote of Monroe County’s board of health at its Thursday meeting.

The current regulation goes through the end of October. In the current regulation, a drop in positive case numbers below 50 cases per week per 100,000 residents is also a condition tied to an end to the mask mandate.

Responding to an emailed question from The B Square, county health administrator Penny Caudill said the exact wording of the new regulation was not yet determined.

The state dashboard’s color-coded map gets updated every Wednesday. Because of that, the board wants the mask mandate to end at midnight on whichever Wednesday the state’s dashboard shows a weekly case total for Monroe County of less than 50 per 100,000 residents. Continue reading “Monroe County health board: Mask mandate to continue into November, tied to pandemic case numbers” →

Appeal denied: Mask violation citation of Seven Oaks Classical School upheld by county commissioners, fine waived

A citation given to Seven Oaks Classical School for a violation of the county’s Aug. 5 mask mandate was upheld on Thursday afternoon by a unanimous vote of the three Monroe County commissioners.

Although commissioners denied the school’s appeal, they waived the $250 fine.

The citation was appealed by Seven Oaks on Aug. 25.

A formal hearing on the appeal was held earlier this week, on Monday.

The Aug. 5 mask mandate says that when community spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is high in Monroe County, as determined by state metrics, everyone “must wear a face shield, face covering, or mask…over their nose and mouth when in an indoor public place and shall at all times, follow current CDC guidelines in every situation.”

Schools get a specific mention in the Aug. 5 order: “For academic and extracurricular activities, all K-12 schools in Monroe county shall follow the guidelines of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), and the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH).” Continue reading “Appeal denied: Mask violation citation of Seven Oaks Classical School upheld by county commissioners, fine waived” →

Decision on school’s appeal of mask mandate citation to come Thursday, Sept. 23

A time has now been set for a ruling on the appeal filed by Seven Oaks Classical School of its mask mandate citation from the Monroe County board of health: Thursday, Sept. 23 at 3 p.m.

The county’s mask mandate is a health order that is intended to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic virus.

It’s the three-member board of county commissioners that heard the appeal on Monday, and that will now render the decision on Thursday.

The scheduling announcement came around noon Wednesday at the end of the county commissioners work session, which followed their regular Wednesday morning meeting. From a procedural point of view, the board is continuing its work session until Thursday.

Board president Julie Thomas said at the work session, “We’d like some more time to continue our individual reading and research, because we did have a lot of materials provided to us, which we appreciate.” Continue reading “Decision on school’s appeal of mask mandate citation to come Thursday, Sept. 23” →