City Announces Next Steps in Reopening Plans

INDIANAPOLIS — City officials recently outlined the recommended future changes to COVID-19 restrictions in Marion County. These changes come as a result of continued efforts to vaccinate Marion County residents, the current downward trend in COVID-19 case and positivity rates, and the new guidance for fully vaccinated individuals released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On June 7, the Health Department will submit a new public health order to the Indianapolis City-County Council for approval. This order will lift Marion County’s mask mandate for fully vaccinated individuals, except for in certain situations such as hospitals, airports, and public transportation. Fully vaccinated individuals are defined as those who received their final dose of the vaccine at least two weeks prior.
The new recommended public health order will also loosen capacity restrictions, including for religious services and funerals, indoor service at bars and restaurants, personal service providers such as salons, indoor sports or other large events, entertainment and cultural events, and large gatherings.
The Health Department will recommend the full reopening of the community to the City-County Council when the county reaches a fully vaccinated rate of 50% of residents and is seeing fewer than 100 new cases per day. The goal is to reach this milestone in Marion County by July 4.
Visit ourshot.in.gov or call 2-1-1 to register for a vaccine appointment, or walk-in to one of the Health Department’s clinics as soon as today.”
Residents ages 18 and over can visit the Health Department’s east side clinic at 9503 E. 33rd Street and receive the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine. IndyGo has partnered with the Health Department to slightly divert route 87 to provide direct access to the east side clinic for IndyGo riders.
Residents in need of transportation to a vaccine appointment can call 1-888-IUHEALTH (1-888-484-3258) and choose option 9. Uber and Lyft will also provide free rides to vaccine appointments from May 24 – July 4. Homebound individuals can arrange for a vaccine to be brought to them through the State of Indiana’s Homebound Indiana program. People who are interested can contact their local Area Agency on Aging at iaaaa.org or by calling 1-800-986-3505.