A Covid-19 testing site is being set up at Salem High School beginning at 9a on December 8. 

The Indiana State Department of Health and Washington County Health Department are partnering with Salem Community Schools to host the Covid testing site. 

The clinic will be held from 9am-6pm December 8-12^th (Tuesday- Saturday) at the Salem High School gymnasium 700 N. Harrison Street in Salem.   

According to Alicia Thompson of the health department, those being tested are asked to  use the parking lot located on Shelby Street and only enter through the designated doors.

“We are not aware of which tests the state will be utilizing,” said Thompson. “Results typically take 3-5 days but is dependent on how busy the labs are that run the test.”

Thompson said testing will be available to all members of the public, regardless of symptoms.

She said children as young as 2 years of age can be tested with parental consent.

Hoosiers will not be charged for testing and insurance is not required.

If you have private health insurance, please bring that information with you.

Pre-registration is not required.

Masks must be worn while awaiting your turn for testing.

Additional testing locations around the state can be found here – https://lhi.care/covidtesting

Due to the anticipated move of Washington County to a “Red” status on the state’s Covid-19 map, local health officer Dr. Jeff Morgan ordered yesterday the move of all students to online learning beginning today. 

There has been much back and forth since August with in-person education and moves to a mix of virtual and in-person when there are cases of Covid-19 reported. 

The latest moves by Morgan sent all middle and high school students home before Thanksgiving while allowing elementary students to continue to attend in-person. 

Students had returned to school on November 30 in Washington County in a hybrid mix of in-person and virtual learning, but will completely stay at home beginning today. 

“We were hoping to finish the semester with in-person and hybrid learning,” said Salem Schools Superintendent Jon Acton.

“Unfortunately the rising Covid numbers have moved us to Remote Learning for the fourth time this school year.  These are not the circumstances we hoped to work within, but we will continue to educate our children, provide emotional support, and do our best regardless of circumstances.”

Action said the school will announce food pick up and delivery plans by Friday for the next two weeks.  

East Washington Schools has a link for parents to fill out for meals to be delivered by school buses over the next couple of weeks. 

Indiana’s Governor Eric Holcomb extended the state’s public health emergency today through Dec. 31. It was the 9th time he’s extended the order for mask and additional mandates regarding the Coronavirus. 

Indiana has been under a public health emergency for 270 days.

“The spread of the disease in the Hoosier state has increased significantly over the past 30 days, as demonstrated by a 7-day average positivity rate of over 10%, an increase from under 4% ten weeks ago; new confirmed cases daily; increased hospitalizations, and tragically, continued deaths from COVID-19,” said Holcomb.

You can read the executive order here – Executive-Order-20-49-Ninth-Renewal-of-Emergency-Declaration (1)

The news comes on the same day that Indiana health officials reported 5,518 new cases of the coronavirus and 142 new deaths  – the most reported in any single day to date.

The updated figures bring Indiana’s total coronavirus toll to 5,598 deaths and 344,373 cases.

Holcomb first issued the Public Health Emergency executive order on March 6.

Indiana code dictates that a disaster emergency can only be in effect for 30 days unless renewed by the governor. 

Indiana now ranks second in the nation for COVID-19 hospitalizations per capita, according to new data. 

Roughly 50 out of every 100,000 Hoosiers are now hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase from last week that builds on an alarming trend that is straining the state’s hospital system. 

Only South Dakota at 61 per 100,000 is doing worse, according to the IndyStar analysis of data from the COVID Tracking Project, an initiative led by journalists, scientists and others since the pandemic began.

But while South Dakota has about 480 hospital beds per 100,000 people, according to a 2018 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Indiana has about 270. 

“The current hospitalization trends are alarming and are straining Indiana’s hospitals’ ability to care for all patients, including those with COVID 19,” said Brian Tabor, president of the Indiana Hospital Association in an emailed statement.

“Hospitals across the state are struggling with staffing issues as the number of cases has grown. Each one of us must commit to doing our part to reduce the spread of this terrible disease so that all Hoosiers can access the care that they need 24/7.”

Less than two weeks ago, Indiana led 44 other states in hospitalizations, but the number of patients hospitalized for COVID treatment across the state has increased since to 3,401. In the spring the number of people hospitalized never broke 2,000.

While new coronavirus cases dipped over the weekend — perhaps because fewer people got tested during the holiday weekend — the number of patients hospitalized for COVID now exceeds any other time in the pandemic.

The count dipped slightly from Wednesday to Thursday but otherwise has been on the rise for the past 10 days.

Floyd County’s commissioners voted 2-1 at a meeting today not to approve the certification for Dr. Tom Harris, the county’s leading health officer, for another four years despite the health department’s board of directors voting to keep him as health officer.

Floyd County Commissioners have opted not to reappoint Dr. Harris as Health Officer for a new term.

His 4-year term will expire on December 31. 

The Commissioners said they look forward to partnering with the Health Board to develop a plan going forward; collaborating with local communities and local government.

Commenting on the vote, Commissioner President Shawn Carruthers stated “the
Commissioners very much appreciate Dr. Harris’s long service to the people of Floyd County. In addition, we thank every staff member of the health department for their dedicated efforts during the pandemic.”

Commissioner John Schellenberger added, “We thank Dr. Harris for his service to Floyd County and its residents and look forward to the next chapter of the Floyd County Health Department”.

Following the Commission’s action, the board of the Health Department may begin a thorough search for a new Health Officer at its December meeting.

“We believe the time is now to begin a new chapter for the Health Department,” a statement from the commissioner’s office said. “We have every confidence that the department staff, working closely with Baptist Floyd and the Indiana Department of Health, will continue to effectively serve our county as we manage the difficult weeks ahead and eagerly anticipate the vaccines that are hopefully not far off.”

Commissioner Tim Kamer was the only one who voted to keep Harris, who has held the position since 2006.

Commissioners Carruthers and Schellenberger both voted to remove him. 

Harris issued a mandate requiring the wearing of face masks, and that has been extended through the end of the year. The mandate is independent of the state’s emergency order from Governor Eric Holcomb.

Under Harris’s leadership in November, the health department issued temporary orders for bars to close at 10 p.m. each day and restaurants to decrease seating capacity to 75%.

Floyd County added 1,367 cases in November as well as 5,318 new tests.

It is not clear who will make decisions regarding the pandemic after the end of this month.  

During today’s Senate GOP leadership press conference, U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) discussed the need to pass targeted coronavirus relief to help Hoosier small businesses and schools and to bolster testing.

“It’s of course December 1^st and we still don’t have a coronavirus relief package that has been passed, signed into law by the President, and is providing relief to the American people. Look, people are hurting. They are beyond frustrated with this whole exercise. Republicans have put forward a package that, as the Leader has emphasized, can actually be signed into law. One that provides assistance to schools and students, one that provides assistance to our hard-hit small businesses, one that provides additional resources for testing. Why don’t we go ahead and pass what we can all agree upon? What we know can be signed into law? And then negotiate, and debate, and give further consideration to additional measures,” said Senator Young.

“As it relates to small businesses, I’ll tell you, Hoosier small businesses have been absolutely hammered, as have so many others around the country. A recent NFIB survey said that nationally 75 percent of their members would either consider or go ahead and apply for the second round of PPP assistance, the sort of assistance that is included in the Senate package. So whether it’s PPP assistance or the inclusion of the RESTART Act, the legislation – bicameral, bipartisan – that I’ve put together with Senator Bennet of Colorado. It now has, incidentally, 58 cosponsors with the addition of Senator Perdue of Georgia… 180 in the House of Representatives – again, bipartisan. So, I am going to push on this small business front and on the other fronts I mentioned to provide much-needed relief to the American people,” Senator Young added.

Click here to watch Senator Young’s full remarks.