Governor Addresses State: Plans to Expand Vaccine Eligibility to all; Mask Mandate to Become "Advisory"

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STATEWIDE -- After 13 months, Indiana's pandemic emergency will be coming to an end.

Indiana COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have dropped 80-percent in three months. In a statewide address, Governor Holcomb announced he'll end a mask mandate and state gathering restrictions -- but not until April 6. He says that'll get the state through the N-C-A-A men's basketball championship the night before, and will allow more time for those at the most risk from the coronavirus to get vaccinated.

Holcomb's also opening vaccinations to all Hoosiers 16 and up, starting March 31. He says the Biden administration told the state in a Tuesday conference call to expect a big shipment of vaccine next week.

Holcomb says the state has been making preparations for vaccinations at big employers, and will roll out those plans soon. The state will also hold more mass vaccination events, like the one at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway earlier this month and one planned for Notre Dame this weekend.

Holcomb says local governments and businesses remain free to impose their own restrictions, and says masks will still be required in schools, in state government buildings, and at vaccination sites. He says he'll continue to mask up at public events, and the Indiana State Department of Health still recommends all Hoosiers follow suit. Holcomb says the more Hoosiers wear masks, the more likely the state really will be entering "the tail end of the pandemic."

Holcomb will renew his public health emergency declaration, now set to expire next Wednesday, through the end of April, in case things get worse again.

The announcement comes amid increasing restiveness among Holcomb's fellow Republicans in the General Assembly. 27 House Republicans have signed on to a resolution which would terminate the health emergency, and Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) last week didn't rule out a hearing on the proposal, saying he'd await Holcomb's address.

And the Senate is expected to vote in the next week on a bill allowing legislators to call themselves into session to review an emergency declaration. Two Senate Republicans have proposed a sheaf of amendments which would ban any restrictions on businesses, churches, or schools, prohibit any mask mandate, cap emergency declarations at two weeks without legislative approval, or remove epidemics from the list of circumstances allowing the governor to invoke emergency authority.

Huston says the lifting of the mask mandate and capacity restrictions shows the administration is "listening to the thousands of Hoosiers and businesses who are ready to get back to work or fully reopen." House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) applauded the plan to open up vaccinations to all Hoosiers, but says he's concerned lifting the mask order could jeopardize the recovery from the pandmeic just as it's drawing to a close. He's urging Hoosiers "to stay the course and continue to take responsible actions to protect themselves and others."