INDIANAPOLIS (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Indiana suspended the plan to move to the next phase of reopening three months ago. Now, the governor said restrictions are being further lifted on Saturday.
Governor Eric Holcomb said while the state is moving forward, the statewide mask mandate remains in effect indefinitely.
"I know no one wants to wear a face mask. I mean this is different, especially for Americans and Hoosiers. I get it. It's not my preference either, but it is not my preference that the pandemic is on top of us either and follows us around, and while our numbers are tracking in the right direction enabling us to further open up, it's because of this," Holcomb said.
Restaurants, bars, fitness centers, and stores will now be able to operate at full capacity, but people are expected to maintain social distance in these places and keep their masks on except while eating or drinking.
"We don't do this without adjusting our daily lives and our routines and how we interact with one another, how we are physically separating ourselves more than in the normal times; how we are washing our hands, how we are masking up - all those actions have an effect on our overall performance," he said.
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Improvements in the state's positivity rate over recent months helped drive the decision to further open the state, Holcomb said. In July, the seven-day positivity rate for all tests was 6 to 6.5 percent, he said. Today, it's around 4 percent.
Holcomb's announcement comes about six weeks before Election Day, when he will face a challenge from Democrat Woody Myers, a trained physician who once served as Indiana's state health commissioner, and Libertarian Donald Rainwater.
Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said Wednesday that people should not interpret the state's further reopening as a sign that there's no longer a reason to take precautions such as hand washing, social distancing, and wearing a mask.
"This is not a return to life the way we knew it in January," Box said.