Marion County still not ready to fully reopen, officials to monitor the situation in upcoming weeks

Indiana – Marion County officials are still not ready to reopen and lift the Covid-19 restrictions in the area. The locals will surely have to wait a little bit longer. At least for now.

At the news conference that took place on Tuesday, both Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and Marion County Public Health Department Director Dr. Virginia Caine did not provide any new information in regards of the restrictions.

Just when everyone thought that at least some of the Covid-19 restrictions will be lifted today, they talked about how Merion County is fighting with the pandemic and the numbers of positive cases lately. The vaccination rates and demand have slowed recently.

“Herd immunity is not a switch,” she said. “It is a gradient and, ultimately, the decision to reopen is not about whether we surpass one particular metric, whether the level of protection from the virus in our community can prevent significant spread and outbreaks.”

County’s goal was to reach the 50% mark until July 4^th, but its likely that this not gonna happen. Currently, ‘only’ 39% of Merion County residents have been vaccinated. However, officials are not only focused on the vaccination rate number. They are also trying to determine the percent of people who already had Covid-19 in order to achieve more accurate forecasts in near future.

Caine said she hopes to still be able to announce a reduction in restrictions by July 4.

The current capacity limits were approved at the June 7 meeting of the City-County Council. They include:

• Indoor services at bars, restaurants and other businesses operate at 75% capacity.
• Personal service businesses are not required to operate by appointment-only, but capacity should allow for six feet between vaccinated clients.
• Entertainment and cultural venues can host up to 75% capacity.
• Religious services and funerals can host 100% capacity.
• Indoor sporting events will be allowed to host 50% capacity.
• Capacity limits on large gatherings are limited to 500 people.

Delta variant was in another focus in their announcement on Tuesday. According to the latest information, almost everyone in the country thinks that this variant will become dominant in the upcoming months. Doctors urge people to get the vaccine since this variant is very dangerous and by far more contagious compared to all previous.

“Those who remain unvaccinated will still suffer COVID’s worst effects if they become infected, all the while potentially spreading it to others,” Hogsett said. “So those who remain unvaccinated suffer the worst of COVID’s effects, then unknowingly, perhaps unwittingly, are spreading it the virus to others.”