The Boone County Health Dept. acknowledged Indiana and Boone County have achieved progress in slowing COVID-19 infections by adhering to state mandates and local guidance but does not advise residents to attend large events, even after the state entered Stage 5 of its reopening plan.
A statement from the BCHD reads:
“We recognize that events are an important part of our community and serve the purposes of socialization and financial benefits. We desire to be compliant with the State’s mandates but understand these mandates are executed at the local level. As per Governor Holcomb’s Executive Order 20-43, public event organizers must submit a Health and Safety Plan to their local health department if 500 or more attendees are expected. The plan must address the wearing of masks by all participants, social distancing, hand washing/hand sanitizing opportunities, and other disease-mitigating efforts. The Boone County COVID-19 Event Health and Safety Plan can be found at boonecounty.in.gov.
“However, we are asking the public to understand that we do not believe such events are in the best interest of public health because COVID-19 can still be found in the community. The Boone County Health Department will continue to work with event organizers to create the safest event plans possible, but we do not recommend or endorse such events.”
BCHD Public Health Educator Claire Haughton said the statement was not in response to any particular upcoming event. She said events across the U.S., including bike rallies, weddings and parties, have contributed to the spread of COVID-19.
Haughton said the best conceived plans still are not enough to ensure complete safety at large events.
“You can’t control for everybody, so having large gatherings isn’t really the healthiest idea right now,” Haughton said. “We are seeing a decrease in COVID cases in Boone County and in Indiana. And even though Indiana is opening up more, we still can’t (treat it) as a license to go back to life completely as it was before COVID.”
For more, or to find COVID-19 testing sites in Indiana, visit coronavirus.in.gov.
