Bartholomew County is reinstating restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 amid a surge in cases in the community that has resulted in the quarantining of nearly three dozen local healthcare workers recently.
County health officials announced Friday that Bartholomew County is moving back to Stage 4.5 of Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s plan to reopen the state.
That means restaurant dining room capacity will be reduced to 75% capacity and bars seating, movie theaters and bowling alleys will be reduced 50% capacity. Social gatherings will be limited to no more than 250 people.
Stage 4.5 would take effect “as soon as possible” and last for at least four weeks, said Dr. Brian Niedbalski, Bartholomew County health officer.
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“This is a very important time for Bartholomew County,” Niedbalski said during a Friday press conference. “Many of our local cases have been linked to some of these public gatherings, whether that’s weddings or baby showers or family get-togethers. Due to this, we’ve decided that we’ve reached a moment in time that we need to take a more cautious approach as a community, and we’re going to step back to Stage 4.5.”
Stage 4.5 was initially introduced by Holcomb in July as a stop-gap measure aimed at pausing his five-stage plan to reopen the state after the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations and daily test positivity rate increased over the summer.
Bartholomew County, as well as the much of the rest of Indiana, later moved to Stage 5 in late September, but infection rates and hospitalizations have been climbing ever since.
More than 28,229 Hoosiers have tested positive for COVID-19 over roughly the past week, including 247 people in Bartholomew County, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
On Thursday, the number of people in Indiana hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections eclipsed 2,000 for the first time, according to the latest figures from ISDH. By comparison, there were 731 people hospitalized on Sept. 12.
On Friday, there were 16 people hospitalized with COVID-19 at Columbus Regional Hospital, up from 11 the previous Friday.
But the surge in cases across the state is placing healthcare providers under increasing strain, particularly with staff, CRH officials said.
There were 34 Columbus Regional Hospital employees quarantining after testing positive for COVID-19 or experiencing symptoms consistent with the coronavirus as of this Friday, said CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue.
So far, a total of 81 CRH employees have tested positive for COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic, including 16 over roughly the past two and a half weeks and 13 in the past five days, the hospital said.
“Our biggest challenge is staff being affected by either the staff being COVID positive or being a close contact of the COVID positive individual and therefore being quarantined and taken out of the workforce,” said Dr. Tom Sonderman, vice president and chief medical officer at CRH, in the Friday press conference.
However, the news that the county would step back to Stage 4.5 raised concerns among some local restaurants and bar operators, who said they fear that the new restrictions may scare off customers as the food service industry braces for what it believes was already going to be a very challenging winter for business.
Tyler Hodge, co-owner of Lucabe Coffee Co., 310 Fourth St., said the move back to Stage 4.5 won’t significantly change how the coffee shop has been operating.
Lucabe staff will continue to implement all the safety measures and procedures that have been in place for months, including social distancing, barriers, washing hands, temperature checks, wearing masks, “all the works,” Hodge said.
“In terms of a change from Stage 5 to Stage 4.5, or really looking back going from 4.5 to 5, there really wasn’t anything different that we did,” Hodge said. “For most restaurants … the socially-distanced aspect of the rule is really the predominating factor. To have 100% in any restaurant, typically you have people within the 6-foot proximity of different parties. For us, going from 75% to 100% really didn’t do anything different. So going back from 100% to 75% won’t really do anything different.”
Cory Parker, manager at Columbus Bar, 322 Fourth St., said he is concerned about whether going back to Stage 4.5 might discourage customers from coming out.
“I think more than anything, it’s the mindset that it puts people in when we do that (reimpose restrictions),” Parker said. “People just don’t want to come out when they see the booths put up. …People come here for company, they want to see people.”
“We’ve never gotten back to 100% capacity,” Parker added. “I don’t think that any place, at least downtown, has. …Really with the size of our building and the square footage, we can’t do 75% capacity with 6-foot distancing.”
Local health officials are urging people to follow public health guidance designed to limit the spread of COVID-19, including wearing masks or face coverings, frequently washing their hands and maintaining at least a 6-foot distance away from others when in public.
“What we’re doing or not doing in the community is not currently working for us as far as controlling the spread of the virus, and we feel that we must redouble our efforts to start to follow those appropriate measures to limit the spread of the virus,” Sonderman said.
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A summary of Stage 4.5, provided by the Bartholomew County Health Department:
- Bars, nightclubs and bar seating at restaurants may operate at 50 percent capacity, following social distancing guidelines.
- Movie theaters, bowling alleys and similar facilities may operate at 50 percent capacity, following social distancing guidelines.
- Dining room food service may operate at 75 percent capacity, following social distancing guidelines.
- Gyms, fitness centers, personal services and similar facilities may operate, but must screen employees daily, wear face coverings, class sizes and equipment must be spaced to accommodate social distancing. Equipment must be cleaned after each use and between uses.
- Continued need to comply with mask mandate, social distancing, frequent hand washing and cleaning frequently-touched surfaces.
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For more information about the COVID-19 pandemic in Indiana, visit
https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/
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Indiana reaches a new record in newly-diagnosed COVID-19 cases — Page A3
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