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Holcomb Apologizes For Failing To Follow COVID-19 Safety Precautions

By Brandon Smith, IPB News | Published on in Government, Health, Politics, Statewide News
In a statement, Gov. Eric Holcomb calls the incident a “lesson learned” that even a quick photo requires following experts’ guidance to wear a mask in public. (Lauren Chapman/IPB News)
In a statement, Gov. Eric Holcomb calls the incident a “lesson learned” that even a quick photo requires following experts’ guidance to wear a mask in public. (Lauren Chapman/IPB News)

Gov. Eric Holcomb is apologizing after he was photographed this weekend out in public without following proper COVID-19 safety procedures.

A selfie posted on an Indiana woman’s Facebook page – and shared widely by a local Democratic Party Twitter account – shows Holcomb taking a photo with the woman and her daughter, all of them without masks and well within six feet of each other.

In a statement, Holcomb says he left his mask in the car when retrieving takeout from a local restaurant – what he calls a lapse in his “usual vigilance.”

READ MORE: Governor Holcomb Outlines How – And Why – The State Will Reopen

He apologized to health care professionals and every Hoosier working to slow the spread of COVID-19. He calls the incident a “lesson learned” that even a quick photo requires following experts’ guidance to wear a mask in public.

In a statement, the Indiana Democratic Party called Holcomb’s actions hypocritical and selfish.

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

This is a rapidly evolving story, and we are working hard to bring you the most up-to-date information. However, we recommend checking the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Indiana State Department of Health for the most recent numbers of COVID-19 cases.