Indiana’s statewide mask mandates and remaining COVID-19 business restrictions will lift in two weeks, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Tuesday.
The governor issued a speech from his statehouse office justifying the decision with Indiana’s “steep declines” in COVID-19 hospitalization and death rates, in addition to more people getting vaccinated.
Restrictions are slated to lift April 6 – a date Holcomb said was chosen to coincide with the ending of the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament taking place in Indianapolis. Holcomb said the timing was chosen to allow more people with at-risk health conditions to get vaccinated.
Holcomb said he hoped the “tail end of this pandemic” would be seen in Indiana, after killing nearly 13,000 people in the state throughout the past year.
Local officials still have authority to impose tougher restrictions in response to COVID-19 cases within communities, Holcomb said. In addition, face masks will be required in K-12 schools for the school year’s duration, he said.
Holcomb urged Indiana residents to continue wearing masks in public, and for restaurants and bars to continue spacing out seating.
