‘We dispatched inspectors’
In a joint COVID-19 update held March 11, Mayor Joe Hogsett and Marion County Public Health Department Director Virginia Caine said they were confident the event would be safe – as long as visitors and residents acted responsibly.
Hogsett said businesses understood “short-term, we’ve got to really make some inroads on that young, college group because of the rise we’re starting to see gain is long term pain.”
When asked about Saturday’s crowd sizes and density, Mark Bode, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said the city remained committed to residents’ and visitors’ safety.
“In addition to the protocols already in place around the city, we will continue to encourage the basics of mask-wearing and social distancing,” he said in a written statement to IndyStar. “We are in regular contact with the Marion County Public Health Department as they monitor developments and use public health enforcement measures as necessary.”
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Aliya Wishner, spokesperson for the health department, said officials were working with event organizers and partners in public health and safety to ensure festivities were held with adequate safety measures in place. She said enforcement measures have been stepped up, adding “after being notified of a potential public health hazard, we dispatched inspectors to make sure critical safety measures are followed.”
New coronavirus cases in Indiana have fallen to fewer than 1,000 a day, but some states including neighboring Michigan have seen cases start to rise again, said Gabriel Bosslet, an associate professor of clinical medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.
“If I’m honest, I think we’re letting our guard down too quickly,” he said. “But who knows what’s going to happen? I don’t think anybody knows.”
While hosting the entire men’s NCAA tournament is a huge opportunity to showcase the city, he said “the timing is really, really odd.”
“We are really close to, hopefully, to the end,” he said. “But I don’t know. Other states around us are starting to surge. The uncertainty is just absolutely stifling.”
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