World News – United States – Indiana gubernatorial candidates debate amid viral illness

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The three candidates for governor of Indiana clashed Tuesday night for their first of two scheduled televised debates, with Republican Government Eric Holcomb’s actions against the coronavirus risk to be strongly contested

Holcomb, Democratic challenger Woody Myers and libertarian Donald Rainwater were scheduled to participate from separate areas of the WFYI-TV studio in Indianapolis for the hour-long debate due to COVID-19 precautions, according to organizers of the Indiana Debate Nonprofit Commission

The debate comes two weeks before Election Day as Indiana has seen a sharp rise in coronavirus-related deaths, infections and hospitalizations since Holcomb last month lifted nearly all coronavirus restrictions on businesses and to the size of the crowds

Holcomb has resisted calls to reimpose tighter restrictions on top of the statewide mask warrant, but last week berated those who do not wear masks in public places

Myers, doctor and former state health commissioner, criticized Holcomb for being too passive to attack the spread of the virus

Myers argues that Holcomb should restore lower limits for bar and restaurant capacities and crowd size and change the mask’s mandate so that violators can face fines in order to incite  » Hard-headed Hoosiers’ who resist their use to understand their importance

Some state conservatives are angry with the Holcomb Mask Order and its executive orders forcing the shutdown of businesses deemed non-essential during the first weeks of the pandemic

Rainwater, an information technology executive at Westfield, appeals to these voters with a message that « all Hoosiers are essential » as he categorically opposes the mask requirement and pledges to quash Holcomb’s decrees

State health officials added 48 coronavirus-related deaths to Indiana’s toll on Tuesday, which has reached 4,008, including confirmed and suspected coronavirus infections, since the state’s first death was reported in mid-March This total represents an increase of 502 deaths from what the state health department reported a month ago

The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations and intensive care unit patients in Indiana has increased nearly 90% over the past month, while the state’s seven-day moving average of infections in Indiana has increased by nearly 90% over the past month. Newly confirmed COVID-19 is at its highest level during the pandemic and has more than doubled since late September

Eric Holcomb, debate, governor of Indiana, Donald Rainwater, candidate