By Erica Irish 
TheStatehouseFile.com 

INDIANAPOLIS—Indiana state officials said Monday the expected surge in COVID-19 cases later this month will require new, aggressive actions from healthcare providers, including an effort to double the number of ventilators and critical care beds currently available and to hire more personnel.

Speaking alongside Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box, representatives from the Indiana State Department of Health and other state leaders, Gov. Eric Holcomb said he is enacting two additional executive orders to ensure healthcare providers can react to the growing number of COVID-19 cases. The disease has sickened 1,786 and killed 35, according to ISDH data, and is not expected to peak until mid-to-late April at the earlier and could extend into May.

“There will be a beginning and a middle and an end to this pandemic,” Holcomb said “Right now, as our numbers are growing, I think it’s only appropriate to underscore the fact that as we see the surge coming, we see a true surge of Hoosier kindness and love and generosity.”

The daily briefing, which had been held in-person at the Statehouse, was conducted via an online link that allowed journalists from across the state to participate.

The first executive order Holcomb discussed Monday directs healthcare centers, including dentists, abortion clinics and others, to cancel or postpone all non-emergency medical procedures so that more resources can be devoted to COVID-19.  The order also removes certain regulations to allow retired medical professionals, medical students and others who are eligible to help hospitals in their fight against the virus, among other provisions.

A second executive order will go into effect Tuesday and directs bars and restaurants around the state take to-go orders only, reiterating Holcomb’s initial directive that restaurants suspend in-person dining service on March 16.

The goal of Monday’s executive order, Holcomb said, is to ensure hospitals have the staff and supplies they need to ensure patients diagnosed with COVID-19 can live and recover.

The response to adding needed personnel, so far, has been positive: Around 5,300 medical professionals volunteered to serve as of Monday morning, according to state health officials.

In other areas, particularly in expanding critical care capacity and personal protective equipment availability, work remains to be done.

Dr. Jennifer Sullivan, secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, said state leaders determined there were an estimated 1,177 ventilators available on March 1. Hospitals have been asked to reallocate ventilators used in elective surgeries to COVID-19 treatment, and other sources like the EMS and National Guard will contribute more as needed.

Sullivan added hospitals have managed to increase the number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds available around the state by about 35%, from a baseline 1,432 beds to around 1,940.

The state continues to lead efforts to distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) like N95 masks and gowns to healthcare providers, having made around 285 deliveries so far. But more is needed, and those who can donate supplies are asked to contact state leaders directly at COVIDResponse@iedc.IN.gov.

“In partnership with the State of Indiana, each hospital is identifying strategies to expand vital resources for the most affected by COVID-19 while shifting patients who need less intensive treatment to other settings,” representatives for the Indiana Hospital Association said in a statement.

Local officials are taking steps to respond to the consequences of the virus, too. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett led a video conference Monday morning with Michael Huber, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, to announce new loans available to small businesses through a multimillion-dollar fund.

“To my knowledge, this is the largest investment the city has ever made in direct support for small businesses and entrepreneurs,” Huber said.

The fund, called the Rapid Response Loan Fund, currently has $3.7 million available to invest in eligible local businesses, who could receive anywhere between $1,000 and $25,000 in loans. But local officials said they hope to raise $10 million for the fund.

This weekend, U.S. Surgeon General and former Indiana State Health Commissioner Jerome Adams listed Indianapolis among several emerging hotspots for the virus around the country. Other cities included New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit and Miami.

Other groups continue to mobilize in response to the virus. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, for example, submitted an emergency petition Monday to ask the Indiana Supreme Court to take new action to prevent disease spread in the Indiana Department of Correction and in county jails.

“People in jails and prisons have little ability to inform themselves about preventative measures, or to take such measures if they do learn of them,” said Jane Henegar, executive director of the ACLU of Indiana. “We must drastically reduce the number of people who are arrested and detained pretrial. Locking people up unnecessarily amid this pandemic, especially those who are medically vulnerable, threatens their health and, potentially, their lives.”

In the press conference, Box said strike teams being led by the state department of health to assess high-risk areas like nursing homes are also surveying jails for the disease. Box added that if someone incarcerated were to test positive for COVID-19, they would be removed from their facility and sent to the hospital for isolation and treatment.

FOOTNOTE: Erica Irish is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.