Columbus Regional Hospital and Schneck Medical Center are continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will require all patients, visitors and employees to wear masks even after the state’s mandate to wear them ends on Tuesday.
Columbus Regional Health will continue to require masks at its facilities and that the governor’s announcement “doesn’t change anything we’re going to do as an organization,” said CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue.
The hospital system also requires masks to be worn at its vaccination site on Keller Avenue near the hospital, where the hospital continues to vaccinate local residents with Pfizer vaccine.
Gov. Eric Holcomb said last week he is sticking by his decision to lift the statewide mask mandate next week amid concerns from health experts about more contagious coronavirus variants and a request from President Joe Biden for states to keep such rules in place.
Indiana also opened up COVID-19 vaccinations Wednesday to all residents age 16 and older in the latest expansion of the state’s vaccination efforts.
Holcomb signed executive orders Wednesday that also ended the statewide crowd size and other business restrictions meant to stem the coronavirus spread, effective Tuesday, the day after the NCAA men’s basketball tournament now being held in Indianapolis ends.
The governor said he was confident that Indiana’s health care system had the capacity to care for COVID-19 patients and that the state could react effectively to new spread of the coronavirus.
Bartholomew County Health Officer Dr. Brian Niedbalski, a Columbus Regional Health physician, is urging the Columbus community to continue wearing masks in public places and stores but will not require them after Tuesday in the county, when Indiana’s statewide mask mandate expires.
“Until we achieve higher vaccination numbers, we must remain vigilant,” Niedbalski said in a written statement from the Bartholomew County Health Department.
After April 6, decisions about venue capacity and social gatherings will be made by local officials. Customers in restaurants, bars and nightclubs will no longer be required by the state to be seated. Six feet of spacing between tables and other seating will still be recommended as is spacing between non-household parties.
However, Holcomb said local officials still have the authority to impose tougher restrictions in response to COVID-19 in their communities and that face mask use would still be required in K-12 schools for rest of this school year.
Locally, Niedbalski “strongly encourages” local businesses to require staff and customers to wear masks “for the protection of themselves and others.”
“There will be no ‘requirement,’ although I am hoping businesses will continue to encourage patrons to wear masks,” Niedbalski said. “I believe most individuals will still wear masks in public because they understand it’s the right thing to do to protect themselves and others.”
“We understand the eagerness to move away from wearing masks. However, as healthcare leaders, it’s our responsibility to continue to follow CDC guidelines and require the use of masks in all of our facilities,” said Ryan Stone, DO, chief medical officer at Schneck. “Masks are proven to be effective in lowering the risk of transmission, and it is our duty to create the safest environment possible for those seeking care in our facilities and for our caregivers.”
With the increase in COVID cases in the community, Schneck encourages everyone to remain personally responsible and vigilant in wearing a mask, socially distancing and washing hands frequently as we continue to fight this pandemic.
“If we want to get back to normal, we must have enough people immune to the COVID virus, and that means it is essential people get vaccinated,” Stone said.
All Hoosiers 16 and over can now register for the COVID vaccine by calling 211 or by visiting www.ourshot.in.gov. Those aged 16 and 17 must get the Pfizer vaccine as it is, currently, the only brand approved for that age group.
