By Taylor Wooten 
TheStatehouseFile.com 

INDIANAPOLIS —Changes to quarantine guidelines could help people in vital jobs like healthcare or education return to their job a few days sooner, easing the burden on overworked colleagues as the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of slowing.

Dr. Kristina Box, state health commissioner, discussed the new guidelines issued this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at Gov. Eric Holcomb’s weekly press briefing on the pandemic Wednesday.

Under the new guidelines, quarantine can end after 10 days for individuals that do not have symptoms or a test, down from the original 14 days that had been recommended. The quarantine can end after seven days if the individual tests negative on days five, six, or seven and does not have symptoms.

“I really think that this is going to help us get more kids back in school sooner, so I’m very excited about that,” Box said of the new guidelines. “And I think it’s going to give comfort to our healthcare workers who are going back more quickly.”

Box also announced that the soaring number of COVID-19 cases has led the health department to revise its script that contact tracer use to find out where the disease may have been spread. The script has been shortened so callers spend less time on the phone with the person who tested positive so they can reach more people.

On Wednesday alone there were 6,655 new cases of COVID-19 in the state and 91 new deaths. This brings the total since the onset of the pandemic to 350,970 cases and 5,688 deaths in Indiana. Box noted the 285 additional probable deaths in the state since the beginning of the pandemic.

“That’s almost 6,000 Hoosiers who aren’t here this year because of this virus,” Box said. “Each of these individuals has a name, a face, and a family who loves them and is grieving.”

Hospitalizations remain high, with 3,441 people in the hospital. This is the second largest number of hospitalizations in the state due to COVID-19.

Officials are bracing for another wave because the numbers do not show the impact of Thanksgiving gatherings, Box said. Those cases are expected to show up a week to 10 days after the holiday.

But in spite of all the bad news there is hope. Dr. Lindsay Weaver, the health department’s chief medical officer, provided an update on the vaccines expected to be available to some groups before the end of the year.

The first wave of the vaccine will be administered to a smaller group of healthcare providers with high-risk patients as well as long-term care residents. Weaver will provide more detailed information at the press conference at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9.

Box urged Hoosiers to get a vaccine as soon as it available to them. As she has done throughout the pandemic, Box stressed the importance of wearing a mask, social distancing and follow other safety measures.

Holcomb said it is impossible to do enough to slow the spread of the virus and that controlling it depends on individual compliance with safety measures.

“We will never be able to do enough,” Holcomb said. “No state, no country in the nation will ever be able to do enough, and every loss of life, every chair that is empty this Thanksgiving is heartbreaking.”

As the distribution of the vaccine nears, the Indiana State Medical Association, Indiana Hospital Association, and Indiana State Nurses Association reminded Hoosiers in a press release to continue to practice safety protocols and pledged to follow a safe, transparent and effective process for administering the vaccine.

“Based on limited supplies in the first round of distribution, our initial goal is to protect those with the most risk of exposure, prevent them from giving it to vulnerable populations, and reinforce our healthcare workforce by preventing illness,” the release said. “Until Indiana has been broadly immunized, we continue to urge Hoosiers to wear a face mask, practice social distancing, wash your hands, and stay home when you are sick.”

FOOTNOTE: Taylor Wooten is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism.