A day after announcing a phased return to “normal” that would begin on Monday, Gov. Eric Holcomb was photographed in a Nashville restaurant not wearing a face mask and not practicing social distancing.
The photo went viral, reaching many Indianapolis-area media outlets. The version above was posted on the Facebook page Self Isolate Our Brown County. Several members of that group have been advocating for strict interpretations of the governor’s stay-at-home order, including a temporary halt on tourism, as virus cases spread.
Holcomb’s “Back On Track Indiana” plan included a recommendation to wear face masks in public settings until at least June 14, when they would become optional. The state’s “reopening” timeline is dependent on the trend that serious cases of the virus take within the next few weeks.
Brown County has one of the lowest numbers of confirmed infections — 18 as of Sunday — but also ranks among the bottom five counties in people tested for COVID-19, so it’s unknown how many people may actually be carrying it.
A petition on change.org now asks the governor to “shut down Brown County,” not listing a specific time frame. It had 600 signatures as of 10 a.m. Monday.
Residents have expressed concern for weeks about tourism further spreading the virus, including lobbying the governor to close state parks. He did close them to overnight campers on April 7, but not to day trippers.
Holcomb stayed in Brown County State Park this weekend at the governor’s retreat, the historic Aynes House. That’s how he came to be photographed inside the Hob Nob.
“I spent the night at the Governor’s residence in Brown County. I ordered take out for dinner and ran in to pick it up, leaving my mask in the car,” he explained Sunday in a statement sent by his press secretary.
“It was a lapse in my usual vigilance. I should have gone back out to the car to get my mask. My apologies to all the healthcare professionals and Hoosiers who are working so hard to slow the spread.
“This is been a timely reminder that even a six second snap of a picture requires following the doctors’ recommendation to wear a mask while in public. Lesson learned.”
He added more comments during his daily news conference on Monday.
This was not a case of “Do as I say, not as I do,” he said.
“It was completely my fault. I actually looked at a bench down in Brown County right by that particular restaurant, and it had a quote on the bench that should have been a sign to me to get your mask out.”
That quote was an Abe Martin saying: “There’s too many folks confusing temptation with opportunity.”
“It was a beautiful, beautiful day this past weekend. … That is no excuse,” Holcomb continued.
“No one has been harder than myself than myself over the weekend. That would have been the absolute, ideal, perfect photo opportunity to take that picture properly socially distanced, with a mask on. … So now, having said that, this should be a reminder not just for me to break old habits, but this should be a reminder for everyone, especially folks who are voluntarily seeking to break the rules, or the recommendations.
“Again, wearing a mask is a recommendation. It’s something we highly recommend. I will be subscribing to it 100 percent of the time, not just 99 percent of the time.”
Downtown Nashville and Brown County State Park were brimming with visitors Saturday under sunny skies and summer-like temperatures. Retail stores were not supposed to be open yet for in-store browsers under Holcomb’s “Back On Track Indiana” plan; the earliest they can open is today, though not all of them indicated that they would be according to a Facebook call-out posted Friday afternoon.
The Nashville Town Council plans to meet virtually on Tuesday afternoon to discuss a reopening plan for the town. Among the considerations before the council are to institute a face mask-wearing ordinance and/or to keep the town “closed” until the end of May.
The council is asking for public comment on those ideas; comments can be sent to town council President Jane Gore at [email protected].
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Join the meeting at 4 p.m. Tuesday by following this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83945566742
