INDIANAPOLIS – Senate Democratic Leader Tim Lanane (D-Anderson) had the following response to Governor Holcomb’s May 5 press conference:

“Did I hear right that the governor said Vice President Pence commended Indiana’s plan to reopen as the best in the country? How can Indiana have the best plan to reopen when this so-called plan doesn’t even meet the standards set up by the President and Vice President themselves? Their plan includes seeing at least two weeks of decreased positive cases as a main benchmark for opening businesses and reducing social distancing. This was one of the governor’s original benchmarks. What happened?

“It was reported today that Indiana has the highest number of COVID-19 cases per capita out of all the states moving to reopen. It is irresponsible that our state and federal leadership seems to be all over the board on this and is succumbing to the emotional demands of a distinct minority to rush to reopen, instead of following a true safety-first approach.”