INDIANAPOLIS — More than 1,500 coronavirus deaths will be added to the Indiana State Department of Health’s dashboard on Thursday.
The announcement was made Wednesday during Gov. Eric Holcomb’s weekly virtual briefing. An audit of COVID-19 deaths, done in a push for more accuracy by the state, found the added fatalities.
The state health department on Wednesday reported the statewide death toll stands at more than 9,700. The number of new positive cases Wednesday came in at nearly 1,500, and the number of people hospitalized with the virus is 1,582.
Here are other announcement’s from the governor’s briefing:
ISDH changes classroom quarantine, contact tracing protocols
State health officials on Wednesday announced changes to classroom quarantine protocols that will go into effect on Monday.
The announcement was made during Gov. Eric Holcomb’s weekly virtual press conference.
Indiana State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said, effective Monday, ISDH will no longer require quarantine or contact tracing if students and teachers remain at least 3 feet apart and wear a mask at all times while in the classroom.
These quarantine changes do not apply to exposures that happen during lunch, athletics, band, or other school settings.
Box said some schools had only been able to separate students by 3 to 4 feet, but the data shows the reduced spacing has not resulted in increased cases.
Box also cited the ongoing burden a 14-day quarantine has had on schools, students and families as a reason for a change in the quarantine and distancing rules inside the classroom.
State health officials also announced more than 1 million KN95 masks will be sent to schools throughout Indiana. The number will be enough to provide teachers, administrators and staff members with 10 masks each.
Box said 600,000 additional masks will be sent to schoolchildren in kindergarten through 6th grade.
