Indiana to Start Phase 4 of Reopening Two Days Early – What That Means

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb held one of his regular COVID-19 updates Wednesday afternoon on Facebook from the Statehouse in Indianapolis, and announced an adjustment to the timeline of the state's "Back on Track" plan.

After a brief opening statement from the Governor, he turned things over to Dr. Kristina Box, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Health, who provided an update on COVID-19 statistics as she has during each press conference. This time around, Dr. Box had some good news to share, announcing the state has seen a steady decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past three and half week period beginning May 11th. She also announced the daily number of hospitalizations has declined since May 8th.

Following her announcement, Governor Holcomb stated that due to that information,  Phase 4 of the reopening plan would begin Friday (June 12th) instead of the plan's original day of Sunday (June 14th).

Here's what that means:

• Social gatherings of 250 people or less will be allowed
• Face coverings are now optional
• Government offices, Manufacturing and Industrial, Office Settings, and Retail outlets are now fully reopened with social distancing guidelines in place
• Restaurants can now operate at 75% capacity
• Bars and nightclubs can reopen for the first time since being forced to close, but must operate at 50% capacity
• Gyms and fitness clubs continue operating under the guidelines of Phase 3 (social distancing, disinfecting equipment, and workout spaces)
• Personal Services (salons, massage therapy, etc.) continue operating under the guidelines of Phase 3 (social distancing, proper disinfecting, etc.)
• Entertainment and Tourism (movie theaters, etc.) may reopen for the first time since being shutdown, but must operate at 50% capacity.
• Religious Services continue to operate under recommended guidelines for social distancing and sanitation.

This easy-to-read infographic provided by the Governor's office following the start of Phase 3 is a handy reference to keep on hand and illustrates the details lined out above.

Phase 4 is scheduled to continue until July 3rd. However, this is now the second straight phase that reopened sooner than previously announced, so that too could change over the next few weeks.

You can watch the Governor's entire press conference in the video below.

[Source: Governor Eric Holcomb on Facebook]