ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. (WNDU) – Local leaders from the City of South Bend and St. Joseph County provided further information on the re-opening of the economy on Sunday night.
From COVID-19 Response Coordinator for the City of South Bend and St. Joseph County Jeff Rea
Local officials promised additional review of the Governor’s plan unveiled just minutes before the local press conference Friday and have spent the good part of the weekend pouring through the details and analyzing the data that pertains specifically to St. Joseph County.
The St. Joseph County Health Department has completed its review and this afternoon issued further guidance to the Mayors’ of South Bend and Mishawaka and the President of the County Commissioners, specifically related to a potential extension of the stay at home order and other recommendations. Elected officials had asked the Health Department for some additional review and guidance and today received the attached memorandum from the department.
“I want to acknowledge the tireless efforts of the Health Department, and our many healthcare institutions, as they help guide us through these extremely difficult times,” St. Joseph County Commissioner Andy Kostielney said. “When faced with challenging decisions like this, I default to following the advice of the experts, and that is why I support their recommendation to follow the Governor’s executive order. That said, Governor Holcomb is simply providing some guidelines to follow, not mandating any specific action. If a business or organization is not ready to open – then they should remain closed. If a citizen does not feel comfortable venturing out – then they should stay home. Just because we can do something,doesn’t mean we must do something. Regardless of where we stand on how/when things begin to reopen, now more than ever, we must continue to work together to keep each other healthy and safe.”
“I continue to have the same concerns that I expressed on Friday, especially related to our testing capacity, PPE supplies, contact tracing system, and number of hospitalizations that suggest we may be moving to reopen too quickly,” South Bend Mayor James Mueller said. “I’m disappointed that our local public health officials did not exercise their authority to continue the stay-at-home measure like their counterparts in Marion and Monroe counties. While I respect their perspective, I have to balance it with other perspectives, including other public health experts. Accordingly, I will look to extend the City’s travel advisory until we are closer to having the state’s additional capacity for testing and contract tracing in place. South Bend does not operate on an island. With the rest of our region moving forward, we need to turn our focus to limiting the next surge of infections while rebuilding our economy.”
The state’s additional testing site and contact tracing effort are expected to be up and running by May 15. The City of South Bend will release more details about the Mayor’s travel advisory Monday morning.