The Indiana Department of Health reported 1,683 hospitalizations and 900 new COVID-19 cases in its latest update, which is a steep decline.

And with that decline, schools around Indiana are looking at changing their mask requirements. 

Last night, Salem Community School voting to remove their mask requirements beginning early next week. 

Yesterday East Washington School Corporation moved to masks being optional, but strongly encouraged for students and staff.

Contact tracing and quarantines are greatly reduced for students and staff who are wearing masks and more than 3 feet apart, said Superintendent Dennis Stockade.

Contact tracing and quarantines are greatly increased for students and staff who are not wearing a mask and are less than 6 feet apart.

Masks are still required by federal law on school buses.

West Washington School Corporation pulled back their mask rules on Feb. 9.

According to a news release, the school has been monitoring school numbers and infection among school employees and students closely.

“We have a wealth of historical data,” noted Superintendent Keith Nance. “Numbers over the past two weeks have drastically subsided and our school data reflects that now is the appropriate time to move to MASKS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.”

“Although the county metric is still elevated we also understand that this data is a two week average of the previous two weeks and thus lags behind our own school-wide data. Our current data at school shows a continual decrease in spread of infection. Our data indicates that we are now in a lull of transmission and this follows previous trends of peaks and lows,” noted Nance. 

The school said their current mask rules were subject to change if transmission increase is evident among our collected data.

The board granted the superintendent authority to change the mask plan back to REQUIRED at any time there is evidence of spread in an individual building, classroom or program. This is inclusive of spread amongst staff and students.

The board also granted the superintendent authority to change the mask plan to STRONGLY RECOMMENDED when appropriate based on school data. 

The latest hospitalization numbers show 1,683 total COVID-19 patients: 1,458 confirmed and 225 under investigation. IDOH reported a record 3,519 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Jan. 13. Before the omicron surge, the previous highwater mark was 3,460 patients in late November 2020.

The department said 19.8% of ICU beds and 77.6% of ventilators are available across the state.

The agency’s dashboard puts the 7-day all-test positivity rate at 15.8% with a rate of 27.2% positive for unique individuals.

Dashboard data represents cases and deaths that occurred over a range of dates but were reported to the state in the last 24 hours, according to the Indiana Department of Health.

The omicron variant was found in 97.2% of samples tested statewide, with delta found in 1.4% of samples.

The County Metric map shows 88 Indiana counties in Red, with four in Orange and zero in the Yellow or Blue categories. The entire state had been red since Jan. 19.

The map is updated each Wednesday. The weekly score is determined by each county’s Weekly Cases Per 100,000 residents and its 7-Day All Test Positivity Rate.

Below are maps from the Indiana Department of Healthy Covid-19 weekly stats. 

Monday evening, February 14, at approximately 5:40, Trooper Angermeier stopped the driver of a 2015 Nissan Altima on SR 57 near CR 200 West for a child restraint violation.

The driver was identified as Kyler Lee, 26, of Winslow.  

Lee’s three-year-old daughter was not restrained in a child safety seat and was moving freely in the rear passenger area. Lee’s one-year-old son was in a child safety seat but not properly restrained.

While talking to Lee, Trooper Angermeier detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage.  Lee displayed signs of impairment and failed field sobriety tests. Further investigation revealed Lee had a blood alcohol content of .14%. 

Lee was arrested and taken to the Pike County Jail where he is currently being held on bond.  His two children were released to their mother.

Arrested and Charges:

• Kyler Lee, 26, Winslow, IN

1. Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated with Passengers less than 18 years of age, Level 6 Felony

Arresting Officer: Trooper Brayden Angermeier, Indiana State Police

Indiana State Police Jasper Detectives are investigating a murder in Perry County and located 24-year-ole Phillip Taylor on Sunday, who was taken into custody and arrested on a warrant for Murder.

On Saturday, February 12, Tell City Dispatch received a 911 call reporting shots fired in the 5000 block of Antler Lane shortly after 11:00 PM. 

Police found Amber Willis, 24, shot dead. She was Taylor’s ex-girlfriend.

Officers worked throughout Saturday night and into the next morning attempting to locate Taylor as he was considered armed and dangerous. 

At approximately 8:30 Sunday morning, information had been obtained that Taylor was possibly in the English, Indiana area. 

While detectives were searching the area Taylor was believed to be, he was located and taken into custody without incident. 

Taylor was transported to the Perry County Jail where he is being held with no bond for murder. 

Perry County Deputies and a Trooper responded on Saturday and upon arriving located a shattered glass sliding door and bullet casings. 

Officers announced their presence loudly into the residence, but, received no response. 

Officers then entered the residence and while looking for a suspect or any injured persons, an adult female was located in a back bedroom. 

It appeared Willis had been shot and displayed no signs of life.  Responding officers did not locate a suspect in or around the residence. 

ISP Investigations and Crime Scene were called to the scene. 

During the investigation it was determined Taylor was a person of interest into the shooting. 

Assisting at the scene: Perry County Sheriffs Department, Tell City Police Department, Perry County EMS, Perry County EMA and the Perry County Coroners Office.

On Sunday, February 6th, Indiana State Police A.C.E.S. (Aggressive Criminal Enforcement Section) Sgt. Greg Day and Indiana State Police DES Detective Josh Allen were contacted about a burglary that had occurred in the 3000 block of SR 37 in Mitchell, Indiana.

An ISP trooper had taken the initial report of the crime on February 2nd. A former business, currently utilized as a personal maintenance shop, had been broken into and almost $40,000 worth of tools, tool boxes, and other equipment had been stolen.

Sgt. Day and Det. Allen learned that a few of the items were for sale on the website craigslist, and the troopers were able to arrange a meeting in a parking lot in Bedford to possibly “buy” the items.

Once the suspects arrived, Det. Allen could see the stolen toolboxes in the bed of their truck. Sgt. Day, along with Trp. Richard Klun arrived and detained three suspects, who were identified as Thomas Van Winkle of Marengo, Brady Ferguson of Orleans, and Jacklyn Wallace of Orleans.

During the encounter, Van Winkle was found to have in his possession approximately 3 grams of suspected methamphetamine.

It was also discovered that he was wanted on multiple felony warrants out of Crawford County (11 total offenses). Troopers also located three Snap-On toolboxes and other items that had been stolen.

These items were recovered for the victim. A search warrant for a blood draw was obtained for Van Winkle, who had driven to the location after allegedly ingesting methamphetamine.

Van Winkle was arrested for the warrant at that time and the investigation continued. Troopers were able to determine that multiple burglaries occurred at the aforementioned property on both January 29th and 30th. The suspects had allegedly made at least three separate trips to steal items on those nights.

On Monday, February 7th, Sgt. Day, Trp. Klun and DES Detective Zack Robbins were able to utilize a variety of investigative techniques and recover almost all of the stolen items. They recovered over $35,000 worth of the items from properties near Huron, Paoli, and Marengo – including the residences of Van Winkle and Ferguson. All of the stolen property was returned to the owners. Sgt. Day then completed probable cause affidavits, requesting warrants on all three suspects. Arrest warrants were issued for all three.

On February 11th, Trp. Tyler Trueblood went to the Crawford County Jail and served Van Winkle’s new warrant on him since he was already being held there for the previous warrant.

On February 14th, Sgt. Day, Trp. Klun, Trp. Trueblood, Trp. Kaitlyn Greene, and Trp. Chance Humphrey began to diligently search for Ferguson and Wallace. They located the pair as they drove through Paoli and a traffic stop was conducted. Both Ferguson and Wallace were taken into custody. In addition, a third occupant of the vehicle was identified as Kerry Williams of Corydon. Williams was found to have in his possession suspected marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and just over 10 grams of suspected methamphetamine that was packaged in a manner consistent with dealing the drug. All three were arrested and incarcerated at the Orange County Jail. Once at the jail, it was discovered that Wallace had suspected methamphetamine and a pipe concealed in a bodily cavity. She faced additional new charges for that offense.

The suspects are facing the following offenses:

Thomas Van Winkle, 43 of Marengo

• Burglary of a Structure, Level 5 Felony (3 counts) – Lawrence County 
• Theft, Level 6 Felony (3 counts)  – Lawrence County
• Possession of Methamphetamine, Level 6 Felony  – Lawrence County
• Operating with a Controlled Substance in the Body, Class C Misdemeanor  – Lawrence County
• Crawford County felony warrants

Brady Ferguson, 28 of Orleans

• Burglary of a Structure, Level 5 Felony (3 counts) – Lawrence County
• Theft, Level 6 Felony (3 counts) – Lawrence County

Jacklyn Wallace, 32 of Orleans

• Burglary of a Structure, Level 5 Felony (2 counts) – Lawrence County
• Theft, Level 6 Felony, Level 6 Felony (2 counts) – Lawrence County
• Possession of Methamphetamine, Level 6 Felony – Orange County
• Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Class C Misdemeanor – Orange County
• Trafficking with an Inmate, Level 6 Felony – Orange County

Kerry Williams, 58 of Corydon

• Dealing Methamphetamine Over 10 Grams, Level 2 Felony – Orange County
• Possession of Methamphetamine Over 10 Grams, Level 4 Felony – Orange County
• Possession of Marijuana, Class B Misdemeanor – Orange County
• Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Class C Misdemeanor – Orange County

All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

Sgt. Day praised the work of all involved officers and stated, “It is always a good day when we can get justice for innocent victims. This is sadly another reminder of how methamphetamine and drug use is not a victimless crime. Unfortunately, those struggling with addiction often turn to commit burglaries and thefts to pay for their habit.”

Anyone with illegal drug activity information is requested to call the Indiana State Police Bloomington Post at 812-332-4411, the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office tip line at 812-545-4700, or send an email to drugactivity@lawrencecounty.in.gov. All calls are confidential.

At Salem’s regular board meeting on Tuesday night, the Board of School Trustees voted 6-0 to lift the school’s mask mandate that has been in place since last fall. 

Board President Rodney Brough said masks will “go away” and administrators and staff at all three Salem schools would work together in the next few days to develop a singular plan to enact by Tuesday, Feb. 22. 

“Do we like masks?” Brough asked. “No. Ultimately, the biggest input we got from parents is “We want the kids in school. We all want to be in school.”

Although, the board recognized that there would be some students and even staff that would continue to wear masks. 

And students will still be expected and required to wear masks on the school bus ride to and from school.

“It would be reckless for us not to adhere to CDC guidelines,” said Brough. “We’ve talked to a couple of schools who have some rules that allow them to deviate from those guidelines…Where their nurses make decisions based on symptoms.”

Brough suggested to lift the mask rule and allow the building administrators and teachers to decide how they were going to accomplish the goal.

Board member Mark Day added,” I do think things are trending down. We’ve cycled through and seen down trends before. We want to try and make as many people happy as possible. When we make decisions, we’re trying to make them for the best of everybody and we need people to get on board. You have to go with the evidence and understand the direction we’re going.”

Board Vice-President Becky White wanted to make sure if masks are not required and the number of students rise that need to be quarantined, that a back-up plan was in place.

Brough noted that if numbers go up, then the board will meet again to review the decision.

“We’ll have to respect the decisions our nurses make,” said Brough. “It’s going to take everyone’s support. I’m not a doctor, but for the last two years, I’ve been forced to make those decisions.”

By Tuesday, Feb. 22, the school will be releasing guidelines for students and staff to follow. 

Board member Allison Ezzell made the motion to remove the mask mandate and White seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0. 

The schools will continue to recognize the CDC recommendation for quarantine and will still perform contact tracing. 

The guidance says students who test positive for COVID can return to the classroom on Day 6 after staying home for five days, as long as they’re asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving.

However, those students must wear a mask for Days 6 to 10, regardless of their school’s mask policy.

Students who have tested positive and can’t or choose not to wear a mask must still isolate at home for the full 10 days.

Meanwhile, students who have been exposed to COVID in school but remain asymptomatic can still attend school on campus, provided they wear a mask.

Even in schools without a mask requirement, students must mask for 10 days, and a test on Day 5 is encouraged, if possible.

If a student is exposed to COVID at home or otherwise outside of school, their steps depend on their vaccination status.

Fully vaccinated students — defined as those who have received both doses plus a booster, if eligible — can remain in school if they’re asymptomatic and wear a mask for at least 10 days if their school doesn’t require masks full time.

Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated students who are asymptomatic should stay home for five days, test on Day 5 if possible, and return to the classroom with a mask for Days 6 through 10.

Indiana will require all students who have been exposed to get a test if symptoms develop and to stay home.

If the test is positive, they should follow isolation guidance, and if negative, they can return to school when symptoms have resolved.