<strong>Free school meals start this week at five locations</strong>
Free meal service starts this week for all children age 18 and younger regardless of whether they’re enrolled in Brown County schools or not.
Starting Tuesday, June 1, free breakfast will be served at Brown County High School, Forest Hills Apartments and at the Brown County YMCA day camp from 8:45 to 9:30 a.m., and free lunch will be served at all three places from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. No meals will be served the week of July 4.
Starting Thursday, June 3, meal kits also will be available for drive-through pickup. A three-day breakfast and lunch meal kit will be given on Tuesdays and a four-day breakfast and lunch meal kit will be given on Thursdays between 5 and 6 p.m. at Brown County High School, Sprunica Elementary School and Van Buren Elementary School.
These meal kits are like what the schools offered during pandemic closures last spring and summer.
<strong>COVID-19 emergency declaration rules updated</strong>
Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Friday that Indiana’s public health emergency has been renewed, but what that “emergency” means has been scaled back.
The parts of the public health emergency that remain deal with allowing certain people to give COVID-19 vaccines who otherwise would not be able to, and allow Indiana to continue to receive pandemic emergency funds for programs such as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The parts of the emergency order that have been lifted are:
The mask mandate that had been in place for state facilities. However, masks are still required in state prisons, state hospitals, the Indiana Veterans Home and the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, and inside COVID testing and vaccination clinics.
The face covering requirement inside schools, starting July 1. (Face coverings are not required outdoors on school grounds.) Starting July 1, local school boards will determine what measures are needed in their schools regarding the spread of COVID-19.
Penalties or interest payments accrued on state income taxes on unemployment wages that must be paid due to HEA 1436.
All directives in executive orders which have continued throughout the public health emergency. They will cease on June 30.
Between Tuesday, May 25 and Friday, May 28, Brown County picked up two new COVID-19 cases. Our cumulative statistics and changes as of Friday were: 1,032 cases (up two), 4,498 residents tested (up nine), 41 deaths (no change) and 6,105 residents who have received at least one vaccine dose (up 69).
Brown County’s COVID spread color on the Indiana State Department of Health map is yellow, the second-highest level. It has not changed since May 19. See more information at coronavirus.in.gov.
