Columbus’ COVID-19 Community Task Force will be discussing new measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus that were announced by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Wednesday.
The new measures, which Holcomb said will take effect Sunday and last four weeks, go beyond some local restrictions that Bartholomew County health officials imposed last week when the county reverted back to Stage 4.5 of Holcomb’s plan to reopen the state.
Holcomb’s new measures include stricter limits on social gatherings, seasonal and commercial events and attendance at indoor K-12 extracurricular and co-curricular activities, among other restrictions.
The task force, which was formed in February, includes representatives from Columbus Regional Health, the Columbus mayor’s office, Bartholomew County Health Department, Bartholomew County Emergency Management, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp., Cummins Inc., among others.
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“I have no reason to believe we will be more lax than the governor’s proposed restrictions,” said Dr. Brian Niedbalski, Bartholomew County health officer. “There will be discussions amongst the task force in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
The restrictions announced by Holcomb on Wednesday are based on the Indiana State Department of Health’s color-coded county map that measures weekly cases per 100,000 residents in each category and the seven-day positivity rate for all tests completed.
Each county is assigned a color based on the average of scores for the two metrics — blue, which indicates minimal community spread; yellow, which indicates moderate community spread; orange, which means medium to high spread; and red, which indicates very high positivity and community spread.
In counties that have fallen into the orange category, which includes Bartholomew County, social gatherings and special, seasonal and commercial events will be limited to no more than 50 people, state officials said.
Additionally, attendance at indoor K-12 extracurricular and co-curricular activities will be limited to 25%, and community recreational and sports leagues and tournaments will be limited to participants, required personnel and parents or guardians.
In counties that are in the red category, social gatherings and special seasonal and commercial events will be limited to 25 people.
Attendance at indoor K-12 extracurricular and co-curricular activities, as well as community recreational and sports leagues and tournaments, in red counties will be limited to participants, required personnel and parents or guardians.
Currently, 87 of Indiana’s 92 counties are in the orange or red categories, according to the most recent update of the map released Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Holcomb implored Hoosiers to wear masks when outside their homes, to social distance by 6 feet at all times and to wash hands frequently. He asked businesses across the state to post that masks were required to enter.
While Holcomb’s new orders will have a major impact on public event capacity, some businesses say they already have the proper protocols in place and don’t expect a big change from the regulations.
Eric Halvorson, manager of corporate affairs and media spokesman for Kroger’s Central Division, said, “Kroger has been a leader in implementing policies designed to combat COVID. Our precautions already match those described by Governor Holcomb. We will continue doing everything we can to protect the health of our associates and our customers.”
According to Kroger’s website, employees and customers are required to wear face coverings while in stores. Buildings are limited to no more than 50% of their maximum capacity. Floor decals and plastic partitions are also in place to encourage social distancing.
While Kroger has signage saying masks are required due to the emergency orders, Halvorson did not say whether Kroger stores enforce either mask-wearing or social distancing.
Jeffrey Baker, co-owner of Baker’s Fine Gifts and Accessories, said that it’s rare for people to come in without wearing masks.
“We don’t ask anybody to leave,” he said. “We ask if they have a mask. … But it hasn’t been much of an issue.”
He also said that social distancing doesn’t pose much of a problem either, as the store is not typically filled with lots of people at once. The one exception is the store’s annual open house for the holiday season. This year, however, instead of the typically-crowded open house, the store is doing a holiday “preview week” spread out over Nov. 14 to Nov. 21.
The store can also make appointments with customers for private shopping.
“The downtown stores, for people who have legitimate concerns, I think are their safest bets because of the sheer proximity of other people,” he added. “… We provide all of the services they don’t normally get. We can also take care of people’s needs over the phone a lot of times. We can ship it out, and we can deliver it.”
Baker said that the main impact the governor’s orders might have on the store would be the potential “psychological” effect on customers.
Viewpoint Books co-owner Beth Stroh said that one of her main concerns, especially with the holidays approaching, is that some customers might move to online shopping because they’re unaware of the services that local businesses can provide in terms of safety and convenience.
For Viewpoint, these services include after-hours reservations for individuals or groups, curbside pickup, free home deliveries within 20 miles, help picking out which books to give and no extra charge for gift-wrapping.
In regards to the governor’s orders, Stroh said that there are masks and gloves available at the front door. Mask are required under the governor’s mandate, and customers are asked to wear gloves if they want to look at books.
“We may not have had a chance to clean every section between customers,” Stroh said. “So we feel like wearing the gloves just is an extra level of security and safety.”
Stroh said that in regards to social distancing, the store asks customers to separate from each other within the aisles, and customers have done a good job of giving each other space.
“It is a challenge in a small space like ours, but we have spaced everything,” she said. “We’ve moved about half of our fixtures and our inventory to the basement, and we just keep fewer copies of things up on the main floor. And then as soon as it sells, we bring it back up to replace it. So we’re keeping inventory in front of the people, but we’re also making it safer for them to be able to shop.”
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Stroh said that the store will continue to be there for its patrons.
“We’ve been in more restrictive times, and we’ve still felt that we can serve our community and that our community is supporting us,” Stroh said. “I think it’s essential that we follow the guidelines. … We have to take greater care with our interactions. I believe that is the right decision, and so it’s up to us to find ways to continue to serve our customers. And we know we can do that. We did from March until June, when the store was closed to the public. And we’ll continue to find ways to do it.”
