Thread by @EricBermanIN

.@GovHolcomb's weekly #coronavirus briefing is about to begin. He's expected to discuss the effect on #schoolfunding.

Holcomb says the state will go forward with a planned $180M increase for schools in the fiscal year which starts July 1. "This shows that schools have been spared the knife...This shows the priority we place on schools."

Holcomb says there's bipartisan support for changing law to ensure schools get full funding even if #COVID forces them to have most students learning from home. Law currently would cut their budget 15%.

Box: 3,000-5,000 new negative tests will be added to state dashboard tomorrow. They're from a lab which was reporting positive tests, but wasn't part of online system to report the negative ones until now.

Box: state will be doing targeted testing in Elkhart and LaGrange Counties today and tomorrow, with particular focus on Hispanic and Amish populations. There's been surge in cases there.

Testing today in Goshen till 7pm; Shipshewana, LaGrange and Topeka tomorrow and Friday.

There's an update on the @IUPUI random sample testing for #coronavirus; second wave of testing two weeks ago.

Fairbanks School of Public Health Prof. Nir Menachemi: second wave of testing indicates virus's spread has slowed. They found fewer infections, more people with antibodies.

Active infections were down by 2/3. Menachemi credits lockdowns, mask wearing, hand washing.

Improvements across the board, but minorities still more likely than whites to show both active infections and antibodies.

IUPUI estimates 43% of Indiana cases are asymptomatic, about the same as first wave. Menachemi says it's a reminder there are still lots of carriers out there who could spur more infections if precautions don't continue.

Box: "There is a real need for masks to be worn" when students return to school. She says it's important for them to be back with their peers, but other than perhaps when they're facing forward in class, they need to mask up -- in the hall, on the bus, etc.

Holcomb declines an invitation to assess what he might have done differently, because the response to the pandemic is still ongoing and it's too soon to tell. "Maybe in a few years."

Kendallville News-Sun, which serves LaGrange County, did Facebook poll: 56% said they don't wear masks. Box says she's seen polls from schools showing 20-30% of parents won't mask their kids. "That's incredibly discouraging...We don't have a vaccine yet. Masks are what we have."