Statement From Dr. Woody Myers on Plans to Reopen Indiana

Indiana’s presumptive Democratic nominee for Governor Dr. Woody Myers issued the following statement regarding Governor Holcomb’s unveiling of plans to reopen the economy:

“The steps taken by the Governor today are premature and increase the likelihood of worsening the Indiana coronavirus epidemic. The steps fly in the face of recommendations created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and endorsed by The White House COVID-19 Task Force led by Vice President and former Indiana Governor Mike Pence.  We will likely see a higher number of new cases in Indiana than if we had waited longer to ease restrictions.  We are simply not ready yet.

“Today, the Indiana State Department of Health reported the second highest number (806) of new cases ever reported on any day.  Cases in Indiana are on their way up, not down. The curve for newly discovered cases has not reached the “top” and is nowhere near flat. None of the newly announced testing and contact tracing capacity is in place.  We need better worker safety measures in place to avoid problems like the ones discovered at the Tyson meat processing plant in Cass County.  It would be much safer to take the time to make real preparations and wait until the testing sites are fully established and are functioning well. We need to achieve a 10,000 tests per day capability statewide according to a calculation based on a Harvard Global Health Institute formula.

“The five-stage plan announced today is confusing. It enacts different restrictions based on what business, and even what county you are in, which will make compliance and enforcement difficult at best.

“I know that many Hoosiers are weary of current restrictions and there is a strong desire to get back to ‘normal.’ Our economy is in major trouble, but the economy will only improve when Hoosiers are confident and feel safe.”