Holcomb Rescinds Temporary Halt On Non-Emergency Surgeries

Hospitals across Indiana can once again schedule non-emergency, elective surgeries after Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday he’ll lift the temporary ban on such procedures.

Holcomb announced three weeks ago that hospitals must halt elective, in-patient surgeries from Dec. 16 to Jan. 3.

Now, the governor said after talking with hospital systems and seeing slight improvement in hospitalizations from COVID-19, he’s ready to lift the ban.

“But we monitor these numbers, again, every day, every week,” Holcomb said. “And so, while there’s an executive order that’s out there that goes three weeks, we’re going to be reviewing this tomorrow and the next day – whether it’s a holiday or not – and track and follow that ebb and flow of the cases.”

READ MORE: Indiana Hits 500,000 Positive COVID-19 Cases, Maintains Nearly Two Month Pace

Holcomb’s latest executive order – for the next three weeks – extends gathering restrictions in counties experiencing the highest risk of COVID spread.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.