INDIANAPOLIS — Several states are seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases as many businesses being to open back up and certain social distancing guidelines are relaxed.
Gov. Eric Holcomb said Indiana's numbers are trending down a step in the right direction but could that change?
Researchers are talking about the possibility of a spike in Indiana and what that could mean for some businesses.
Connecting with the community — that's what the manager said Neidhammer Coffee was built on. But for the past few months, any sort of connection has been tough as they follow state guidelines to slow the spread of COVID-19.
"We slowed down our hours quite a bit for most of Covid and were closed for about a month just to make sure we were safe," Elli Jones, events and operations manager at Neidhammer Coffee, said.
But now they're slowly moving forward as the state starts to ease restrictions. It's a positive trend for businesses in the area but some are still keeping a close eye on what is happening around the country. More than a dozen states are reporting a spike in new COVID-19 cases.
"It's going to take more data and analysis to figure out exactly what is happening but I think a couple of those issues with the reopening speed and the mask use are probably playing a part of this," Shandy Dearth, of the IU Fairbanks School of Public Health, said.
Epidemiologists here said Indiana has not experienced a spike in new cases. Some said it could be because the reopening process here has been slower than other states and more data-driven. But a spike could still be on the way, especially when we hit the final stage of reopening in July.
"It's something we are going to have to keep an eye on, looking at the public health data that comes in and hopefully if we were to see an increase some other measures will be taken to encourage more social distancing moving forward because we don't wanna get back in the same spot we were in back in March," Dearth said.
Dearth said those measures could include things like enforcing mask use and putting restrictions back in place for businesses across the state. Some said they hope it doesn't get to that point.
"Of course financially small businesses to be told you can't run is awful you can't bring in business, you can't have cash flow when you get restricted," Jones said.
At Neidhammer Coffee, they are doing everything they can to keep the shop sanitized and their community healthy.
The governor is still following the principles laid out in the "Back on Track" guide. The governor's office told RTV6 that if the state cannot meet the listed principles, it may trek backwards.
"If we cannot meet these principles, all or portions of the state may need to pause on moving forward, or we may return to an earlier stage of the governor’s Back On Track roadmap," the governor's office said.
Epidemiologists said the best thing you can do to help prevent a spike is wear a mask and avoid large gatherings when you can.
