What we learned from the governor's coronavirus news conference this week

A day after his reelection, Gov. Eric Holcomb held another of his weekly virtual news conferences to provide updates on Indiana's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The state on Wednesday once again set a new record for the most COVID-19 cases reported in a single day, with 3,756 new cases. Twenty-five more Hoosiers died of the disease.

The newly reported numbers bring the state over 191,000 cases. In all, 4,224 Hoosiers have died.

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Wednesday's grim numbers expanded to the state's color-coded map showing how the virus is spreading in each county. Only one county, Brown, is seeing minimal spread, according to the map's Wednesday update. Seventy-one of the state's 92 counties are showing moderate to high spread in the community. Three are seeing high community spread -- the same as last week.

Here's what we learned from the governor on Wednesday:

Holcomb addressed rumors that he would reimplement statewide pandemic restrictions now that the Election Day is in the past. He said these rumors are not true, nor are rumors that the state would return to complete virtual schooling. He called the rumors not helpful and counterproductive. The governor acknowledged the increasing case totals and deaths around the state. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said the seven-day positivity rate and hospitalizations are increasing, reflecting the increase in cases. Box said they're hearing from hospitals about the strain the increase is having on them. She said the strain is particularly difficult on health care workers. "They are frankly exhausted," Box said. The health commissioner said the state is having regular meetings with hospital groups to prepare for surges. She said staffing is one of the biggest challenges, and elective surgical procedures are being postponed in some locations to help free up staff. The state is seeing three to five requests per day for staffing assistance at health care providers. She said these needs are growing at hospitals, not just long-term care facilities. Box said deaths are on the rise as well, even in Hoosiers under the age of 50. "COVID doesn't respect age limits," she said. The health commissioner said training continues as Indiana National Guard prepares to deploy to long-term care facilities. She said she is hearing reports of increasing waits to get tested. This isn't a surprise because more people want tests as cases increase and more people have symptoms, she said. The number of testing sites continues to increase. The health commissioner said there's a lot they don't know about vaccines, including how many they'll receive, how effective they'll be or how many people will want to get vaccinated. The federal Food and Drug Administration has not approved a vaccine for COVID-19. Dr. Lindsay Weaver, the state's chief medical officer, said they don't know if the federal government's estimate of a mid-November delivery date for the first vaccines will hold. Weaver said they're looking for five initial vaccine pilot sites to represent all regions of the state. Holcomb said they will hold another news conference at 2:30 p.m. next Wednesday, which is Veterans Day.

Contact IndyStar transportation reporter Ethan May at emay@indystar.com or 317-402-1058. Follow him on Twitter: @EthanMayJ.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: What we learned from the governor's coronavirus news conference this week

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