INDIANAPOLIS — Here are Sunday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic, including the latest news on COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in Indiana.
Registrations for the vaccine are now open for Hoosiers 5 and older through the Indiana State Department of Health. This story will be updated over the course of the day with more news on the COVID-19 pandemic.
IDOH shuts down Speedway vaccine clinic
The COVID-19 clinic across from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway officially ended operations Saturday.
The Indiana State Department of Health said less demand for testing and wider vaccine availability at other locations led to the change. Also, the rate of COVID-19 cases is also declining.
Mobile clinics will still be available upon request.
IDOH also said Indiana National Guard support for long-term care facilities and hospitals will end on March 14.
The White House says Americans have placed 68 million orders for packages of tests, which leaves about 46% of the stock of tests still available to be ordered.
Nearly half of Biden's 500M free COVID tests still unclaimed
Nearly half of the 500 million free COVID-19 tests that the Biden administration recently made available to Americans still haven’t been claimed as virus cases plummet and people feel less urgency to test. That's according to administration officials who say the program still represents a step toward a deeper and more responsive testing program that will accommodate demand surges and remain on standby when cases wane.
On the first day of the White House test giveaway in January, the government website COVIDtests.gov received 45 million orders. Now officials say fewer than 100,000 orders a day are coming in for the packages of four free rapid tests per household.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 78.93 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 6 a.m. Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 948,200 deaths recorded in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 434.43 million confirmed coronavirus cases with 5.94 million deaths and more than 10.48 billion vaccine doses administered.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness like pneumonia, or death.
IPS easing COVID-19 protocols Monday
Indianapolis Public Schools is making some changes to the district's COVID-19 protocols as cases decline across the country.
Starting Monday, Feb. 28, face masks will be optional for students, staff and visitors at IPS facilities. Also, the district announced that they will be ending social distancing, contact tracing and quarantine protocols in schools.
In a message to parents, IPS also said free PCR and rapid testing will be available for school families and members of the community at Arsenal Tech and Broad Ripple high schools. The testing is in addition to rapid testing available at IPS schools for students and staff and is part of a partnership with Delta Vector.
The new testing locations will be open Monday through Friday, with morning and afternoon appointments available. Residents will need to pre-register for visits to either location.
Some Americans welcome new CDC mask guidance, others wary
Americans who have been clamoring for an end to mask-wearing have welcomed new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It says healthy people in most areas of the country can safely stop wearing masks.
But others remain wary that the pandemic could throw a new curveball.
Now, states, cities and school districts are assessing whether it’s safe to stop masking – long after others threw out such mandates and many Americans ignored them.
Chicago day care operator Grace Thomas says she's not ready to take off her mask because she wants to keep everyone safe.
Steve Kelly, a manager of Kilroy’s Bar & Grill in downtown Indianapolis, said it seems that neither employees nor customers think much about COVID-19 since Indiana lifted a mask mandate for restaurants.
“It doesn’t seem like anybody is wearing masks,” he said of his customers, though a few employees still do. And he said people rarely get upset anymore.
“My daughter is 13 and she wears a mask. It’s her choice,” he said. “Nobody bothers her about it and she wouldn’t care if they did.”
Indiana legislators still seek deal to end COVID-19 order with Monday vote possible
Indiana legislative leaders remain intent on approving administrative steps that Gov. Eric Holcomb has said are needed for him to end his statewide COVID-19 public health emergency declaration, although that action is still caught in a debate over whether the state should limit businesses from imposing workplace vaccination requirements.
The Republican governor said this week he will extend the declaration again if legislative approval isn’t completed by the current order’s March 4 expiration.
The Republican-dominated state Senate could vote as soon as Monday on a bill that includes the actions sought by Holcomb allowing the state to keep receiving enhanced federal funding for Medicaid and food assistance programs.