PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, October 8, 2020
8 P.M.

LA PORTE COUNTY COMMISSION PRESIDENT SHEILA MATIAS URGES NO LET UP IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19

La Porte County Commission President Sheila Matias said today, “We are seeing an alarming spike in positivity rates not only in La Porte County but across northwest Indiana. As we head into flu season, I urge residents of La Porte County to be ever vigilant and to keep their guard up in this fight against an invisible but destructive virus. Be stronger than the virus; show your strength and commitment to your family and your community by following CDC guidelines – wear a mask, practice serious hand hygiene, avoid crowded places, keep 6 feet
away from anyone who is not in your family unit, and please stay home if you feel sick or have any flu symptoms.”

The Commissioner continued, “At the county government level, we are dealing with increasing cases of infection among staff including some positive cases among our maintenance staff and cleaning crews.” Matias said the commissioners are moving aggressively to take measures to keep employees and the public safe. “I want to reassure county personnel that while the contact tracing, testing and treatment occurs for those who may have been exposed, we will be bringing in contract cleaning crews to help support our maintenance staff who
have several members in quarantine or in treatment with COVID symptoms.”

“Working closely with our Council President and Auditor, late this afternoon I directed the county to engage Servpro to do a deep cleaning of all county buildings over the holiday weekend so that we can assure county employees that upon returning to work Tuesday morning their work spaces will be sanitized and safe.”

“The increasing infection rates and hospitalizations we’re seeing point out the need for Indiana to step back to Stage 4.5. I urge Governor Holcomb to continue his diligent approach by stepping in to keep our citizens safe. Vigilance is needed by all of us. Moving to Stage 5 seemed to send the wrong signal that we were out of the woods and the data is clear-this is clearly not the case.”

Matias reinforced the importance of the county and state’s mask mandates as a way to reduce the spread of the virus. Matias stated, “The science is clear on this. The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts that 371,000 Americans will have died of Covid-19 by January 1st. Yet the Institute’s model also suggests that if 95% of Americans just wore masks (at the level in Singapore, for example) then nearly 100,000 lives could be saved between now and the end of the year.” Commission President Sheila Matias continued, “Some people take kindness for weakness-but in this case, the kindness you show by wearing a mask shows your strength. It can save lives. I know this pandemic has been exhausting and we are fed up with it. I get it. But we cannot let down our guard; please join your neighbors as we work together in this fight against this virus,” concluded Matias.