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.

An investigation is underway after skeletal remains were found near 173 West Quarry Road, Orleans in Orange County.

The discovery was made Sunday, November 29th, by a man who was walking in the area and came upon what he thought to be skeletal remains.

Indiana State Police Crime Scene Investigators were notified and collected the remains. Indiana State Police and the Orange County Sheriffs Department are currently investigating the discovery.  

The identity of the remains has not been determined at the time of this release.

This is an ongoing investigation. Information will be released as it becomes available. 

Assisting at the scene were Orleans Police Department and the Orange County Coroner.

A Mitchell man was arrested on Tuesday for dealing meth.

Arrested and Charged was Robbie D. Leatherman, 45, Mitchell, IN

• Dealing Methamphetamine, Level 5 Felony 

He was taken into custody without incident and was transported to the Lawrence County Jail, where he is currently being detained.  

On Tuesday, December 1, 2020, the Indiana State Police concluded a lengthy drug investigation by arresting Leatherman. 

Indiana State Police had received information that Leatherman was dealing methamphetamine in and around Mitchell, Indiana.

The Indiana State Police Drug Enforcement Section initiated an investigation which led to information that Leatherman was indeed distributing methamphetamine in the Mitchell area.

Indiana State Police Trooper Daniel Crozier and Trooper Chance Humphrey located Leatherman, during a routine traffic stop, at 5^th Street and Railroad Street in Mitchell, Indiana.

In April of 2020, The City of Salem Utilities began installing a Smart Water Meter system to all households and businesses throughout the entire service area.

The initiative will bring increased efficiency to water customers, allowing them to monitor water usage more accurately.

It will also allow the city to quickly respond to any infrastructure issues or possible leaks.

This program was started as part of Salem’s ongoing effort to provide excellent customer service and to stay ahead of inevitable issues that may result from aging infrastructure, as some
meters are more than 25 years old.

To date, nearly 3⁄4 of the new meters have been installed, according to Green. 

The City of Salem Utilities recently informed customers of a possible extended billing cycle as the new meters are coming online.

The cause of the extended cycle is not known, and they are
working quickly to fix the issue.

As a result, some customers will have an extra 20 days of billing
on their current statement.

Green said this will balance out during the next billing cycle, reflecting a shortened cycle.

If you have any questions about your bill or to make payment arrangements, please contact the City of Salem Utilities at (812) 883-3937.

Washington County added a record number of Covid-19 cases in November as well as new deaths – nearly more in one month than the rest of the year combined. 

From March to October, there had been three reported deaths and 433 total cases of Covid-19 in Washington County. 

In November there were five new deaths reported (for a total of 8) and 432 new Caronavirus cases (totaling 856). 

Other counties in the WSLM Listening area experienced an increase and as a result, several will be moving to the “Red” status with an update to the Indiana State Department of Health map tomorrow. (See related story – https://wslmradio.com/2020/12/01/washington-county-to-go-red-students-ordered-to-move-online/

Currently, there are 17 “Red” counties and one “Yellow” Counties. The other 74 counties are in the “Orange” status. WSLM will update this information Wednesday after noon. 

November Covid increases by county:

• Lawrence – 868 cases
• Jackson – 1151 cases
• Jennings – 555 cases
• Orange – 278 cases
• Washington – 432 cases
• Scott – 594 cases
• Clark – 2,205 cases 
• Floyd – 1,367 cases
• Harrison – 692 cases
• Crawford – 150 cases

The number of Covid-19 tests has also increased over the last month. As a result of more testing, there are more positive tests, however, the lag in test results has resulted in some people waiting a week to get results. 

And during that waiting period, many are not quarantining until they get a positive result, which means they can be spreading the virus to others.

There is a lack of availability of rapid (and accurate) Covid-19 tests in the area. Some facilities have limited the number of rapid tests available to the public. 

Following is a look at testing in November:

• Lawrence – 2,510 new tests
• Jackson – 2,824 new tests
• Jennings – 1,872 new tests
• Orange – 918 new tests
• Washington – 1,474 new tests
• Scott – 1,648 new tests
• Clark – 8,012 new tests
• Floyd – 5,318 new tests
• Harrison – 2,632 new tests
• Crawford – 562 new tests