INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s mask mandate for those inside schools will last for another month as the governor has issued a new extension of the statewide COVID-19 public health emergency.
The executive order signed Friday by Gov. Eric Holcomb ends the indoor mask requirement for students and K-12 school workers on June 30. The order says it will be up to local school boards to decide whether to adopt mask rules or other restrictions for the upcoming school year.
Holcomb ended the statewide mask mandate in early April while keeping mask requirements in place for schools and state buildings.
The new order taking effect Tuesday lifts mask requirements for state buildings, except for prisons, state hospitals, the Indiana Veterans Home and the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. Masks will also remain required inside COVID testing and vaccination clinics.
Holcomb signed his 15th renewal of the statewide public health emergency that was first issued in March 2020. It now runs until July 1.
In that time, the state health department has recorded nearly 13,600 coronavirus-related deaths. The health department has added 48 deaths to that toll over the past week.
Indiana hospitals, meanwhile, have reported treating between 750 and 800 coronavirus patients a day in the past week.
