Hamilton County Health Department’s Chris Walker recently provided a video update on where the county stands as a recent uptick in cases have been recorded.
Walker
“I think there is a couple factors at play,” Walker said. “We’ve been moving to our Back On Track Indiana steps and opening up more and more activities. Also, we recently just came out of a holiday weekend. But when we look at the data, what we see is a pretty large spike in the 19- to 30-year-old demographic. They account for almost a third of all positive cases in Hamilton County. We suspect they are not wearing masks and not social distancing properly.”
When asked if Hamilton County could expect mandatory mask wearing while in public, like Marion County, Walker said, “Last week the board of health met for their regular quarterly meeting and the message of wearing a mask was brought up. They determined we would strongly recommend to wear a mask. The reason they did not mandate it or require it, is because there is no enforcement arm to making it a requirement. They felt like that was not the proper verbiage to use for mask use; however, when inside for public settings and when outside and cannot social distance, we still strongly feel that masks should be worn whenever possible.”
Walker continued, “It is important to remember we don’t wear our mask to protect ourselves. We are wearing to keep our germs to ourselves. Please be considerate of others and make sure you are maintaining social distancing and wearing a mask when appropriate, please.”
Data provided by the Indiana State Health Department for Hamilton County indicates a seven-day moving average of positive COVID-19 cases that exceeds mid-April numbers. (Graphic provided)
I think a MASK should mandatory!
Until we wear masks the problem will continue. Please note that being Republican does not make you immune.