Illinois and Indiana officials are looking for a path forward as their respective stay-at-home orders approach their expiration dates, and NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern contrasts the differences between the two states.
Indiana officials reported 815 new cases of coronavirus Friday, lifting the statewide total to 18,630 as the state prepares for modifications to its stay-at-home order.
Indiana officials also reported 55 additional deaths as a result of the virus in the last 24 hours. The state’s death toll now sits at 1,062, though health officials noted an additional 113 "probable deaths."
"Probable deaths are those for which a physician listed COVID-19 as a contributing cause based on X-rays, scans and other clinical symptoms but for which no positive test is on record," the Indiana Department of Public Health said in a statement.
As of Friday, nearly 100,000 tests have been reported to the state's health department.
Marion County remains the hardest hit county in the state, with 5,754 cases and 339 deaths reported as of Friday. Lake County has reported 1,929 cases of the virus and 92 deaths.
Friday marks the last day of the state's stay-at-home order, but Gov. Eric Holcomb said he plans to announce modifications to the order that has been in effect since March 25. (Watch live here at 1:30 p.m. CT)
Holcomb has not specified his planned modifications but indicated more workplaces and businesses could reopen while under guidelines such as requiring masks, additional spacing between employees and frequent cleanings.
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State officials are considering information such as hospitalization and death rates, along with the availability of intensive care unit beds and ventilators for those who are seriously ill, in deciding whether to lift any restrictions, Holcomb said.
“We’re going to have positive cases month after month after month after month after month,” Holcomb said. “It’s how we manage our way through this. It’s how we have the ability to care for those folks who are in need.”
