Executive Order 21-28 • October 29, 2021
Gov. Eric Holcomb instructed state agency leaders and governor's office staff
Saturday to begin developing plans that will enable him to bring an end to the
state's COVID-19 emergency "in the near future."
In the meantime, the Republican chief executive also signed two executive
orders continuing Indiana's public health emergency due to the coronavirus
until at least Dec. 1.
"I'm extending the public health emergency for another 30 days to
maintain critical assistance to our neediest Hoosiers as we come out of
this pandemic — all directly tied to its continuation," Holcomb said.
The governor's 20th renewal of his COVID-19 emergency declaration — initially
issued March 6, 2020, after the first COVID-19 infection was confirmed in the
Hoosier State
— contains fewer provisions than most of its predecessors.
For example,
the order no longer directs hospitals to consider reprioritizing or
postponing non-emergency procedures, eliminates hospital diversion reporting
requirements, and scraps a directive for the Indiana Department of Insurance
to request health insurers extend prior authorization for surgeries or
procedures postponed by hospitals due to COVID-19 capacity issues.
At the same time,
the governor's new order empowers Dr. Kristina Box, the state health
commissioner, to issue a standing authorization for the administration of
the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Hoosiers age 5 to 11, assuming such use is
endorsed, as expected, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
The order also encourages all eligible Hoosiers to get vaccinated against
COVID-19 as soon as possible, since unvaccinated individuals comprised 830
of the 834 people admitted to the hospital with COVID-19, and 153 of the 168
coronavirus deaths in the state during the week ending Oct. 16.
According to the Indiana Department of Health, 57.4% of Indiana residents age
12 and up have been vaccinated against COVID-19, or 3.36 million Hoosiers.
In Northwest Indiana, records show the vaccination rate through Friday was
56.1% in Lake County, 61.7% in Porter County, 56.2% in LaPorte County, 40.9%
in Newton County, and 46.1% in Jasper County.
"Despite significant steps being taken in our state, the virus remains a
threat to the health, safety and welfare of all residents of Indiana such
that emergency conditions continue to exist, and efforts are needed to
continue to address, control and reduce the threat posed by COVID-19,"
Holcomb said.
Source:
NWI Times
Several provisions from the most recent executive orders have been
removed:
- The direction for hospitals to consider reprioritizing or postponing non-emergent procedures
- The reporting requirements for hospitals about diversion
- The direction to the Indiana Department of Insurance to request that insurers extend prior authorization for non-emergent surgeries or procedures that are postponed and prior authorizations for the transfer or discharge of patients
Indiana University Health temporarily suspended 100% of all elective surgeries
and procedures that required a hospital stay throughout the system. The
healthcare system released the following statement Saturday:
"This decision was needed to relieve pressure on our care teams and to free
up space for critically ill patients. We’ve been monitoring our census,
staffing and acuity levels to help decide when to resume non-emergent
surgeries. We still have high volumes of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients,
so we will be cautious in making this decision and are likely to make any
adjustments on a region-by-region basis rather than for the system as a
whole."
Eskenazi Health says it is planning to resume elective procedures on November
8. Columbus Regional Health, which canceled elective procedures and surgeries
as of September 13, resumed its normal surgery schedule as of November 1,
according to a spokesperson.
Vaccination efforts continue throughout the state, and the Department of
Health announced this week the testing and vaccine clinic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be open until November 20.
Source:
WRTV
