INDIANAPOLIS — The latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic from Monday, Aug. 10, 2020.
Greenwood High School student tests positive
Greenwood Community Schools Superintendent Kent DeKoninck announced a student at Greenwood High School has tested positive for COVID-19. The student attended class on the first day of school, Aug. 6. According to a letter from DeKoninck, the student attended class in the morning. Other students who were in close contact with the student have been notified.
Taylor holding commencement Saturday
Taylor University will hold its commencement ceremony Saturday at 8 a.m. The event was originally scheduled for May 23 before the coronavirus pandemic pushed the date back. More than 300 graduates are expected to receive their diplomas.
The ceremony will be held outdoors, and masks and social distancing will be required. Because the state is prohibiting indoor gatherings of more than 250 people, the event must be held outside. If there is inclement weather, the school will make a decision to either delay or cancel the ceremony.
ISDH update
The Indiana State Department of Health is reporting 673 new cases of COVID-19. It is the first time in the past five days that Indiana has reported fewer than one thousand new cases. The new cases put Indiana at a total of 74,992. The positivity rate average over the past seven days is holding at 7.5 percent.
The state is also reporting three more deaths for a total of 2,838 since the start of the pandemic.
Ball State student pledge
Ball State University is launching Cardinals Care, a public health campaign asking every member of the campus community to pledge to do their part to limit spread of COVID-19.
Students and staff are being asked to wear face coverings, physical distance, and practice proper hygiene. All members of the Ball State community are being asked to take the Cardinals Care Pledge to care for themselves, other Cardinals, and the campus and community.
Cardinals Care kicks off Monday with Ball State beginning face-to-face instruction on Aug. 24.
Avon HS moving to e-learning
Parents of Avon High School students got a message Sunday night about a big change next week.
Monday school will be in session as normal. Then on Tuesday, the high school will be virtual learning only for everyone for the rest of the week.
The message to families says there have been five confirmed COVID-19 cases at the high school, so the school district will take this time to figure out how to handle things moving forward, whether it's a hybrid approach or e-learning completely.
Below is the full statement on Avon High School's website:
Avon Schools is committed to making adjustments as needed to best meet the needs of our students. Beginning Tuesday, August 11th, Avon High School will transition to e-Learning for the remainder of the week. Students will attend in-person on Monday, August 10th and then work with their assigned teachers for the remainder of the week at home. ACSC administrators will use this time to continue to review and finalize options for a hybrid approach at Avon High School. A hybrid schedule will allow for fewer students in the school by using both in-person and online instruction. We are planning to utilize a hybrid schedule for the weeks of August 17th and August 24th. It is our current plan to transition back to fully in-person instruction at AHS beginning on August 31st. At this time, no adjustments in school schedules are occurring at any other Avon schools and they will continue in-person instruction next week as scheduled.
Latest US, world numbers
According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been 19,877,261 positive cases of COVID-19 around the world as of 6:35 a.m. EDT. In the U.S., there have been 5,045,564 cases.
There have been 731,570 deaths and 12,127,638 recoveries globally. In the U.S., there have been 162,938 deaths and 1,656,864 recoveries.