EXECUTIVE ORDER: 21-33

FOR: TWENTY-SECOND RENEWAL OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY DECLARATION FOR THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK

TO ALL WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME, GREETINGS:

WHEREAS, on March 6, 2020, I issued Executive Order 20-02 which declared a public health emergency exists throughout the State of Indiana as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States and a confirmed report that the disease had spread to the State of Indiana;

WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic, and, on March 13, 2020, the President of the United States declared a national emergency with respect to this dangerous virus;

WHEREAS, Ind. Code § 10-14-3-12(a) provides that a state of disaster emergency shall continue until the Governor: (1) determines that the threat or danger has passed or that the disaster has been dealt with to the extent that emergency conditions no longer exist; and (2) terminates the state of disaster emergency by executive order or proclamation;

WHEREAS, Ind. Code § 10-14-3-12(a) also provides that a state of disaster emergency may not continue for longer than thirty (30) days unless the state of disaster emergency is renewed by the Governor;

WHEREAS, since the initial declaration of emergency I have issued subsequent Executive Orders renewing the state of disaster emergency for additional thirty (30) day periods as set forth in Executive Orders 20-17, - 25, -30, -34, -38, -41, -44, -47, -49, -52, 21-03, -05, -08, -11, -14, -16, -18, -22, -26, -28 and -31;

WHEREAS, Executive Order 21-31, issued on December 1, 2021, and effective December 2, 2021, is the most recent renewal of the state of disaster emergency and is currently set to expire on January 1, 2022;

WHEREAS, as of the date of this Executive Order, the virus remains in every county throughout Indiana with over 1,227,000 confirmed cases and over 18,200 deaths;

WHEREAS, our vaccination program and efforts continue with over 3.4 million Hoosiers fully vaccinated out of 6.3 million eligible. However, only 54.5% of eligible Hoosiers are fully vaccinated;

WHEREAS, throughout the Hoosier state, we are seeing a steady increase in new confirmed cases and hospitalizations in numbers surpassing the previous wave in early fall and a 7-day average positivity rate of over 13.8%, equal to the positivity rates from January 2021; over 1,000 Hoosiers have been diagnosed daily with COVID for the past five months, and tragically we are currently averaging 31 deaths per day from COVID-19;

WHEREAS, for the week ending December 5, 2021, 2,102 of the 2,176 new COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital were unvaccinated; 303 of 316 COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) were unvaccinated; and 268 of 340 COVID-19 deaths were unvaccinated individuals;

WHEREAS, despite significant steps being taken in our State, the virus remains a threat to the health, safety and welfare of all residents of Indiana such that emergency conditions continue to exist, and efforts are needed to continue to address, control and reduce the threat posed by COVID-19; and

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Eric J. Holcomb, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor by the Indiana Constitution and the laws of the State of Indiana, do hereby order that:

IT IS SO ORDERED.