Thread by @ISMAphysicians

.@GovHolcomb's weekly #coronavirus briefing about to begin.

Indiana will spend $30M to add up to 95 more #coronavirus testing sites.

.@StateHealthIN is beta-testing a school #COVID dashboard. Hasn't gone live for the public yet.

Once it goes live, the school #COVID listing will be similar to the existing one for #longterm care, in that exact numbers won't be given for schools with fewer than 5 cases, for privacy reasons; it'll say <5. There also won't be exact ages, only age ranges.

Box: state expects to add 50K new negative tests to dashboard in days ahead in Monroe and Tippecanoe Counties, driving down their positivity rates. There's a big backlog of negative tests from universities (positive tests are reported faster).

12 new testing sites are already open, 22 more expected by Friday, 60 more by early next month. They'll be administered by local health departments.

.@FSPH_MHA will begin third phase of its randomized #COVID testing at the end of the month. Unlike previous phases, this one will test children.

Box: ISDH has formed team to discuss ethical standards for deciding who's first to receive vaccine once it's approved. First wave of distribution expected to be only enough doses for 5-10% of the population. ISDH has a conference call with @CDCgov Friday to get further guidance.

Holcomb on possible penalties for violating #MaskUp order: "We're not there. We're right where we were at the beginning." He adds that while there have been viral videos of people not masking up, he's talked to lots of people grateful for it.

Holcomb: Businesses have been nimble in figuring out how to get back to work safely, as have schools. "I shudder to think, if we hadn't done a mask mandate, where we would be" in terms of positivity rate (now at 5.1%).

Box: new CDC study found noticeably lower #COVID rates among health care workers who reported they were conscientious about wearing masks. She says it's one more data point supporting the value of #masks in reducing the virus's spread.

45 new cases in Miami County today. due to outbreak in Miami Correctional Facility. The prison has a total of 60 infected inmates and 10 staff. State plans to do mass testing.

The one-day burst is nearly double the county's previous one-day high.

Indiana expects to begin adding the $300 bonus on unemployment checks a week from Monday.

Holcomb doesn't directly address question about Bob Woodward tapes of President Trump saying he was purposely downplaying seriousness of the virus to avoid panic. The governor focuses on his own response, saying "We've never downplayed the virus here," all the way back to March.

Box: state will have more #FluShot locations this year. She says it's especially critical for people to get flu shot this year, so hospitals don't face the "twindemic" of a surge in flu cases while still dealing with #COVID19.

Holcomb on 100,000 case milestone: "It's sad. It's just as sad as it was on that first day with that first death. Every one of those 17 [newly reported deaths today] means 17 families."

Box: state is probably catching more asymptomatic cases than a few months ago as testing ramps up. She and Holcomb both reemphasize that's why masks, hand washing, social distancing are so important: you don't know whether you're a carrier.