About 90 people from Salem and surrounding areas gathered at the Washington County Fairgrounds Wednesday afternoon at 5:30p for about an hour to sing, pray, read poetry and express their feelings in the wake of recent police violence and the rioting that has threatened businesses and safety around the country.

Mandi Jay, Brandon Catalanotto, and Kaylee Morris decided they needed to do something to remember and honor the lives of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, who were killed by police. Ahmaud Arbery was a black man jogging in Georgia recently and was killed by two white men. 

They wanted to host a memorial service to allow people in Salem to express themselves after these deaths. 

“We were going to have an event downtown but then people said they were afraid of a riot or damage to buildings,” said Jay. “So we moved it to the fairgrounds.”

Morris appeared on the WSLM morning show, “Coffee Club” earlier in the day. 

Below is the LIVE video of the event. 

Governor Eric J. Holcomb today signed Executive Order 20-30 to extend the public health emergency for an additional 30 days to July 4th.

The Governor also signed Executive Order 20-31 which allows older youth to remain in foster care beyond the age of 18 for the duration of the public health emergency.

This will allow them to continue to receive education, workforce training, and health benefits.

Executive Order 20-31 also extends the time period to renew professional licenses, certificates, or permits to June 30.

Due to the current restrictions on in-person dining in restaurants, the executive order reduces the number of food sales a restaurant must report to maintain its alcoholic beverage permit.

Additionally, deadlines for the calculation of local taxes were also extended by the executive order.

Click here to see the executive order: https://www.in.gov/gov/2384.htm

The governor was joined by other state officials, including Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, State Health Commissioner Kristina Box, and Secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Jennifer Sullivan.

Holcomb and Dr. Box restated the importance of the Fairbanks COVID-19 statewide sampling study, of which the second round of testing started today, and encouraged Hoosiers to participate if they are contacted.

Dr. Box recounted the state’s latest coronavirus numbers, as reported by the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) on Wednesday. 

ISDH reported 511 new coronavirus cases between April 24 and June 2 and 10 additional deaths between May 29 and June 2, bringing the statewide totals to 35,712 and 2,032 respectively. Marion County has now seen more than 10,000 positive cases. 

Dr. Box said she was concerned about protests and the potential of spreading the coronavirus and possibly seeing a spike in the state’s case numbers.

“Of course I’m concerned,” she said. “Please take precautions as you are gathering.”

Dr. Dan Rusyniak, Chief Medical Officer for Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) spoke about recent discrepancies in COVID-19 reporting in long-term care facilities.

Dr. Rusyniak said FSSA is looking into these discrepancies. “Our focus for long-term care facilities has been how to prevent and mitigate outbreaks,” he said.

According to Dr. Rusyniak the state deployed strike teams, surveyors went to facilities early, and Indiana recognized there were outbreaks that occurred that we didn’t hear about until later. He said that is why, on April 10, the state ruled that all long-term care facilities would have to report cases within 24 hours.

“CMS has acknowledged that the data in the systems is unlikely to align with the states’ data because of the way they are counted,” Rusyniak said.

He said there are now guidelines for visitors and restrictions are not without consequences. He added that isolation has had a serious impact and technology like facetime calls cannot substitute an in-person visit.

Dr. Rusyniak said transmission risks are much lower outdoors, and the risk of coronavirus and the need for family interactions at these facilities can be balanced, and the state will soon be releasing guidelines for outdoor visitations.

“We are working on a timeline so that everyone can visit those they love without a restriction,” said Rusyniak.

Indiana remains in Stage 3 of Holcomb’s “Back on Track Indiana Plan.” Stage 4 isn’t expected to start until June 14.

Dr. Sarah Moyer, director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness and the city’s chief health strategist, is encouraging those participating in recent demonstrations to get tested for COVID-19, to wear facemasks and to practice other strategies to protect themselves during future demonstrations.

“We encourage those who have been participating in the demonstrations since last Thursday to get a free COVID-19 test,” said Dr. Moyer. “They can get tested through their healthcare providers or at other locations that are posted on our website.”

Dr. Moyer also encourages demonstrators to do the following as much as possible:
• Wear a face mask
• Wear eye protection (sunglasses, goggles, face shields)
• Stay hydrated
• Use hand sanitizer
• Avoid yelling – instead use signs and noisemakers
• Stick to a small group
• Keep 6 feet from other groups

“Our city has gone through some very painful events over the past months,” Dr. Moyer said, “but the Department of Public Health and Wellness continues to work to achieve health equity for all of our people and to bring about a healthier Louisville where everyone and every community thrives.”

COVID-19 Numbers
• 2651 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Louisville
o 43 new
• 172 deaths
o Three new: An 87-year old male and two individuals 90 years or older.
• 1826 recovered
o 64 new

The racial and ethnic breakout is as follows:

Race
Confirmed (80% complete)
57% White
32% Black
6% Asian

Deceased (96% complete)
64% White
30% Black
5% Asian

Ethnicity
Confirmed
16% Hispanic/Latino

Deceased
3% Hispanic/Latino

Contact Tracing

The Department of Public Health and Wellness is greatly expanding its contact tracing capacity. Contact tracing is the practice of identifying and monitoring individuals who may have had contact with an infectious person in order to control the spread of a communicable disease.

“Contact tracing is how we box-in COVID-19 as we ease social distancing protocols and get the economy up and running’” said Dr. Moyer. “It’s how we will prevent large outbreaks until a vaccine is developed and is widely available.”

The Department of Public Health and Wellness is hiring more employees to do contact tracing and the city has contracted with Lacuna Health for additional contact tracing and case management services.

“For contact tracing to work to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we need everyone’s help and cooperation’” said Dr. Moyer. “If you get a call from one of our COVID-19 contact tracers and are told you may have been in close contact with some who has COVID19, please cooperate. Please answer our call and be honest,” she said.

Contact tracers will ask about your health, housing, and employment to find out who you were close to who may have exposed to the virus, and if you have what you need to stay safe and recover.

“We can help make sure you have groceries, medicine, and other important things while you stay home and get better,” Moyer said.

Contact tracers WILL NOT ask for Social Security numbers or credit cards. Nor will they ask about immigration status. They will not share your identity with the law enforcement or immigration officials.
For more information about COVID19, including testing locations, information on contact tracing and more, visit www.louisvilleky.gov/covid19.