Indiana Back On Track – Moves to Stage 3 – Friday May 22nd

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May 20th, 2020 — 

The Governor and his team announced at his press conference today, Indiana has met all the requirements to progress to Stage 3 of the Governor’s 5 stage Back on Track program.  The Governor will sign the executive order tomorrow, in addition his team will provide additional details and related guidance.  Please check back tomorrow and Friday as this story will be updated, as his office releases additional information.

Lake, Marion, and Cass Counties scheduled to move to Stage 3 June 1st

Due to their local circumstances Lake, Marion, and Cass counties are scheduled to move to Stage 3 on JUNE 1st. The final decision for these three counties will be made by their respective local governing bodies.


Stage 3 May 22nd

( CLICK HERE FOR LINK )

— Those of high risk, 65 years or older, or others with elevated risk factors may venture out cautiously 

— Face coverings are recommended for everyone

— Those who can work remotely, should continue to do so.

— Social gatherings of up to 100 people (while following CDC social distancing guidelines)

— Retail stores and malls may move up to 75% capacity

— Mall Common Areas (food courts and seating areas) increase to 50% capacity

— Recreational sports practices may begin, following guidelines
    Contact sports such as football and lacrosse are prohibited

— Gyms, YMCAs, fitness studios may open with restrictions and social distancing.

— Community pools and campgrounds may open

— Basketball, tennis, soccer and baseball courts and fields may open

— Raceways can begin competition with no spectators

— State Park inns will begin to re-open

— Youth summer day camps may open June 1st


The Governor will also extend an executive order to July 1st :

— Extends prohibition on turning off utilities

— Extends prohibition on filing mortgage foreclosures and evictions

— Extends deadlines to acquire or renew drivers licenses, vehicles registrations and similar BMV documentation

Again, he will extend  his original executive order to July 1st :


The Governor and his team will remain cautious, and make the best decisions using the information available at the moment.  In order to ensure it is safe to proceed to the following stages.  Stages 4 and 5 are listed below:

Stage 4 June 14th

( CLICK HERE FOR LINK )

— Face coverings will be optional.

— Social gatherings of up to 250 people (while following CDC social distancing guidelines).

— Large venues will be allowed to open, while adhering to social distancing guidelines.

— State government buildings will reopen to the public completely.

— Professional buildings and their office workers may return to work at full capacity.

— Retail Stores and Malls open at full capacity. With social distancing guidelines in place.

— Dining Room Services will open at 75% capacity.

— Bars and Restaurants will open at  50% capacity.

— Cultural and Entertainment, Tourism destinations may open at 50% capacity
    Zoos, museums, bowling alleys, aquariums and like facilities 

— Recreational Sports and Leagues, Tournaments may resume, Amusement Parks, Water Parks, and like facilities may open at 50% capacity.    

Stage 5 July 4th

( CLICK HERE FOR LINK )

— The goal is for all areas of the state to obtain stage 5 by July 4th 

— Even at Stage 5, social distancing guidelines are encouraged to be practiced.

— Conventions, sports events, State Fair,  festivals, and like events will resume.

— Remote work will continue to be optional.

— Retail Stores, Malls, Restaurants, Bars, Night Clubs, Gyms, Personal Services, may operate at full capacity. 

— Restrictions will be lifted at amusement parks, water parks and like facilities. 

At this point Governor’s team decides the approach for the next school year.


Graphic showing the plans detailed above

Graphic provided by City of Fort Wayne

The guiding principles listed below are used by Governor Holcomb and his team to determine the progression between stages, in his plan to reopen the state by July 4th.  Progressing between the stages requires adherence to the:

“Back on Track” Four Guiding Principles:

Click on the Banner to See The Guiding Principles in Detail

• Monitor the number of hospitalized COVID-19 Patients 

— The number of hospitalized patients state wide COVID cases has decreased for 14 days

• Retain the capacity to treat a surge of patients

— The state retains it’s critical care capacity for beds and ventilators currently at above 40% and 70% respectively.  Those numbers must remain high to ensure availability to all, particularity those most in need.

— Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is available to provide reliable access for these items to small businesses.  A program will be announced later which will be open to businesses and non-profit entities with fewer than 150 employees registered to do business in Indiana will be eligible.

— The State will be distributing 300 million dollars to counties, cities, and towns via a population based formula. These monies are the first installment of the Corona Virus Relief Fund.  More details regarding this plan are forth coming.

• Have the ability to test all Hooisers who are COVID-19 symptomatic

— Initial strike teams will continue to play a vital role. The state has partnered with OptumServe, to add 50 testing locations in strategic parts of the state. These sites will enable 100K more Hooisers to get tested per month, and aid in the early detection of new cases (CLICK HERE FOR TESTING SITE LOCATIONS).

• Have the ability to contact trace all cases

— Contact all individuals who test positive for COVID-19, and expand contact tracing. A new centralize contact tracing program is scheduled to be online May 11th.  All new cases will be tracked in a uniform and timely fashion. 500 new contact tracing staff are coming online to manage the case load.

Since the onset of this pandemic, all actions taken by the Governor Holcomb and his office have been data driven. Constant monitoring of the metrics which roll into the four guiding principles will continue. Any detrimental changes to any of the above four guiding principles will result in actions dictated to address the negative impact to the factors noted above.  As a result the target dates noted below may change.


Indiana State Guidelines for COVID-19 Readiness by Industry

These guidelines should be followed by employers, employees, customers & guests. Please click on the links below for guidance on how to prepare and/or what to expect going forward.


Learn more about the Governor’s Back On Track Plan Here ( CLICK HERE )

Learn More about the Back on Track Engine Here ( CLICK HERE )

Learn More about the Five Stages Here ( CLICK HERE )

Learn more about various Industry Guidelines ( CLICK HERE )


Link to essential functions /  industries may be found  https://www.in.gov/dhs/4434.htm
Links to all executive orders may be found here: https://www.in.gov/gov/2384.htm

This is a developing story and has been updated.


Content – Governor Holcomb Press Release

Contact Person:
Rachel Hoffmeyer
RHoffmeyer@gov.IN.gov

Story updated 2020 05 20 15:30