TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Governor Eric Holcomb provides insight as to what factors will drive decisions to safely re-open Indiana’s economy.
Earlier this month, governors of Midwestern states announced that they would coordinate on reopening their economy’s.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb says this is an important step due to shared borders.
“We are looking at our neighboring counties, our neighboring states, because of the potential or ongoing spread,” Holcomb said.
As state’s like Illinois and Michigan extend their stay-at-home orders into the month of May, Holcomb says coordination efforts do not require Indiana to follow the footsteps of others.
“Indiana won’t be frozen in place because of some other state or regions numbers, we’re not forced to act in lockstep with anyone else,” Holcomb said.
Leading up to May 1st, the date that Indiana’s stay-at-home is set to expire, Governor Holcomb says state officials will continue ongoing work to decide what a safe reopening will entail. The governor also says when Indiana’s economy does restart, it will not happen quickly.
“Everyone will not go all at once, if anyone does, and I suspect we will begin to continue to open up in a very responsible and safe way to the extent that we can, and where we can’t, we won’t,” Holcomb said.
Holcomb says COVID-19 numbers will be important in making the decision to re-open but this will not be the only information he will use for guidance.
“We’re going to continue to look at all those areas that drive those decisions and that’s not just the numbers but that’s the actual outcomes from the actions that we’re taking,” Holcomb said.
Holcomb says the state will make economic decisions while keeping in mind the implications they may have on the outbreak.
“This a delicate balance of lifting and suppression in terms of what the data is telling you to do so that we don’t experience a resurgence,” Holcomb said.
