Indiana Officials Warn Of Potential Coronavirus Flareup

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana officials warned Thursday those eager to resume normal activities that the coronavirus outbreak could turn for the worse again.

A new order from Gov. Eric Holcomb that took effect Monday lifted many business and travel restrictions for most of the state. Holcomb maintains that despite the state’s more than 1,400 COVID-19 related deaths since mid-March that a gradual reopening can happen as long as hospitals have the capacity to treat those seriously ill.

Dr. Kristina Box, the state health commissioner, urged residents to be vigilant in steps such as distancing from others and wearing masks when out in public.

“We expect that the cases will go up when we start to open things up,” Box said. “That is why we are protecting our must vulnerable populations so that, hopefully, we don’t experience those severe morbidity or mortality associated with the cases.”

Meanwhile, workers began returning Thursday to a northern Indiana meatpacking plant that was closed for nearly two weeks. Nearly 900 employees of the Tyson Foods plant in Logansport tested positive for the coronavirus and the plant undergone a deep cleaning, installation of plexiglass workstation barriers and other measures, said company spokeswoman Hli Yang.