Thread by @EricBermanIN

.@GovHolcomb's weekly #coronavirus briefing about to begin. He's expected to announce whether he's extending, ending or revising Indiana's #MaskMandate and capacity limits on bars, restaurants and entertainment venues; both orders are currently set to expire at midnight.

Chief Justice Loretta Rush is making her first appearance in one of these briefings, to discuss a new mediation program to prevent evictions. @SecretaryLawson is also on hand to discuss #Election2020.

Holcomb: capacity limits and #maskmandate will remain in place another 30 days.

Holcomb: Positivity rate is holding steady, but "We want to see that go down, (and) we don't want to see it go up."

Box: Hospitalizations are still 59% above post-peak low of June 26 (though down 6% from post-peak high on August 6).

Box: State dashboard will now assign a "score" to each county, based on average of 3 metrics: new cases per 100K people, positivity rate, and week-over-week percentage change in positivity rate.

Averages will be sorted into four categories of community spread, and carry recommendations (not requirements) for how schools should respond.

Box: "We continue to see many (school) cases related to sleepovers and other parties with school friends."

Box: Daviess County outbreak (2nd-highest positivity rate in Indiana) began at a church and has affected several businesses. Neighboring Martin County has the highest rate in the state.

Box: Adams County, which last week had highest positivity rate in state (tied to one "local establishment), now scores in lowest risk category. She says Adams and Daviess illustrate how quickly following mask/distancing recommendations can control an outbreak, and vice versa.

Box says health officials in counties scored orange & yellow report their residents "don't believe in the #maskmandate and aren't following it." She & Holcomb repeat masks are critical to controlling outbreak, and avoiding reimposition of restrictions, as seen in other states.

Box: new county #COVID scores will go live on @StateHealthIN dashboard next Wednesday and be updated weekly. The dashboard already posts daily updates on positivity rate, one of the 3 components of the score.

.@SecretaryLawson: "We will be going forward with a normal #election process." Says office is working "feverishly" to ensure health protections for pollworkers, including sneeze guards, sanitizer and masks, plus masks and sanitizer for voters.

Indiana is one of 6 states which will not have universal #MailInVoting option, though Lawson says she still expects 1.3 to 1.8 million mailed #absenteeballots under existing law. "We are working with @USPS to ensure that ballots are prioritized and received in a timely manner."

Lawson: if you vote by mail, mail application no later than Oct 19, and send it back no later than Oct 27, per postmaster general's advice. "And my sage advice would be, don't wait. Apply today."

Lawson: ballots haven't been printed yet because presidential nominees weren't official until the conventions. Trump and Pence were officially nominated Monday, and ballots should go out soon.

Lawson: absentee criteria include confinement due to illness. "If you are staying home due to a condition that puts you at high risk, you may qualify" for an absentee ballot. "But if you're going to the grocery store, you are not confined to your home."

Lawson also urges voters concerned about polling places to take advantage of 4-week early voting period.

Lawson: we still need pollworkers and absentee ballot counters.

Lawson urges people to volunteer to work the polls, and urges organizations, like the bar association, to recruit their members to help.

Lawson is discussing election #cybersecurity. I wrote about the office's safeguarding efforts in February: bit.ly/3hA3dTx

Lawson: law is clear on what constitutes "confinement" to home. "It's really up to the voter to decide which of those reasons [for voting absentee] applies to you, the voter."

Box: turnaround time for test results is "very much improved."

Box: along with people who won't wear masks, go to work even though they're sick, etc., one barrier to reducing spread is people who don't answer calls from contact tracers (still about 1/4 of their calls). ISDH will soon begin PSA campaign to urge people to "answer the call."

Box: people with symptoms are the priority for testing. But asymptomatic who are in contact with people known to be infected, or workers in hospitals/nursing homes, "Please still get tested." She notes people with COVID but without symptoms are still carriers.

Holcomb: "What sets us back is when we're constantly reacting. Maybe it's the basketball player in me, but you have to play offense" against the virus. Box says people who find restaurants, etc. not enforcing masks "should consider taking their business elsewhere."

While there's been no state enforcement of #maskmandate (though some cities and counties have), Box and Holcomb both point to businesses which have posted signs reminding patrons to wear masks, and say people can take responsibility for protecting others by following requirement.

Holcomb: "I understand frustration" of people who don't like restrictions, "but we've got to deal with reality. And the sooner we deal with reality, every citizen, protecting not just yourself but who you're around, the sooner IN will bend that positivity rate down."

Box adds, "We have to do what we can do as Hoosiers to control this virus until we have a vaccine."