TO ALL WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME, GREETINGS:
WHEREAS, on March 6, 2020, I issued Executive Order 20-02 which declared a public health emergency exists throughout the State of Indiana as result of the coronavirus disea~e 201.9 (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States and a confirmed report of the disease m our state;
WHEREAS, since then, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID- 19 to be a global pandemic, and on March 13, 2020, the President of the United States declared a national emergency with respect to this dangerous virus;
WHEREAS, to reduce and slow the spread of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) have recommended implementation of mitigation strategies to increase containment of the virus, including limitations on large gatherings and social distancing measures designed to prevent initial exposure and secondary transmission;
WHEREAS, to take all necessary steps to increase containment of the virus, I have issued the following Executive Orders:
WHEREAS, on March 23, 2020, I issued Executive Order 20-08 which required all persons residing in Indiana to stay at home except for, among other things, conducting essential travel and activities, participating in the operation of essential businesses or the operation of essential governmental functions;
WHEREAS, on March 23, 2020, I also issued Executive Order 20-09 which prohibited access to all state government buildings, offices and facilities by the public restricting access only to those members of the public needing to conduct services essential to public health and safety and which cannot otherwise be conducted electronically, telephonically and/or delayed until 8:00 a.m. on April 7, 2020. This restriction extends to the Indiana Government Center, Indianapolis office locations and other offices throughout the state; and
WHEREAS, on March 31, 2020, by Executive Order 20-14, I extended Executive Orders 20-04, 20-10 & 20-11, which among other things, prohibited restaurants, bars, nightclubs and other establishments from providing in-dining services and established compliance and enforcement actions to be taken by the ISDH and the ATC for dining establishments failing to prohibit in-person dining
WHEREAS, as of the date of this Executive Order, the virus has now spread to nearly every county throughout Indiana. On March 16th, the ISDH confirmed the first case of COVID-19 and on March 16th, the ISDH reported the first death in Indiana due to COVID-19. In the span of 30 days, Indiana now has 4,944 confirmed cases with 139 deaths. Unfortunately, we expect these numbers to continue and rapidly increase in the days ahead;
WHEREAS, Hoosiers are already acting responsibly during this public health emergency. The intent of this Executive Order is to ensure people maintain physical distance to the maximum extent feasible while enabling essential services to continue, protecting people’s rights and slowing the spread of COVID-19 to the greatest extent possible. When people need to leave their places of residence, whether to perform essential activities or to otherwise engage in activities necessary for continuity of social and commercial life, they should, at all times, comply with social distancing ~ recommendations. All provisions of this Executive Order shall be interpreted to effectuate this intent;
WHEREAS, despite significant mitigaiton steps being taken in our state, this virus remains a serious threat to the health, safety, and welfare of all residents of Indiana, and further efforts are needed to address, control, and reduce the evolving threat posed by COVID-19;
WHEREAS, in consultation with and concurrence of the Commissioner of the ISDH, we must ~ continue aggressive social distancing and other measures must be employed and ~ followed by all in this State. We must redouble our efforts, or we will be unable to ~~ slow and contain the spread of COVID-19 and the number of cases in Indiana will ~ continue to rapidly increase for the immediate future;
The complete Executive order can be found in this link: https://www.in.gov/gov/files/Executive
