This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, April 13th, 2021.

Later in the program, we turn to WFHB Correspondent Aaron Comforty, for the second part of an interview with Jonah Furman on Covid-19 outbreaks at Bloomington's Catalant Covid-19 Vaccine Factory. Stay tuned to hear the interview in today’s feature reports.

Also coming up in the next half hour, we have the latest edition of Artbeat - a segment spotlighting artists, activists and educators about their work. More at the bottom half of the show.

But first, your local news brief:

The WFHB Local News Brief breaks down the daily local news cycle into 2-3 minutes of what you need to know each day. Listen live Monday through Thursday at 1:30 p.m. on WFHB Community Radio. Visual broadcasts of the news briefs are available on our Youtube channel, WFHB-TV.

Covid-19 cases continue to trend upwards in Indiana. On Tuesday, the Indiana State Department of Health reported 970 new positive cases.

The state health department also announced 16 new deaths. The 7-day positivity rate currently stands at 12.9 percent. Since March of last year, ISDH accounted for almost 700,000 total Covid-19 cases with over 12,700 total deaths.

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In a COVID-19 Press Conference, Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton confirmed 5 new positive cases among City employees in the last few weeks.

Nearly 10 percent of the city’s workforce has tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to Mayor Hamilton. The City offers a 100 dollar wellness benefit for employees who have received their COVID-19 vaccines.

Last week, the Bloomington Solid Waste Management districts approved a similar wellness benefit, giving its employees a 100 dollar bonus for getting their COVID-19 vaccines. Governor Holcomb reiterated how important the vaccines will be to ending the pandemic.

All Hoosiers ages 16 and older can sign up to receive their COVID-19 vaccine. You can sign up online by visiting ourshot.in.gov, over the phone by calling 211 for assistance, or by contacting one of Indiana’s Area Agencies on Aging.

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Indiana will be following national guidelines and temporarily suspending use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The Indiana Department of Health is working with providers of the single shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to make sure they have an adequate supply of the two-shot Moderna vaccine, so that Hoosiers who have appointments can still start their vaccines.

Weekly COVID-19 Press Conference

Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton reported two new positive COVID-19 cases among city employees at the April 9th COVID-19 press conference. He expressed concern over Indiana's rising COVID-19 numbers.

Indiana University Assistant Vice President Kirk White emphasized how important it is that Hoosiers who make new vaccine appointments cancel their original. He said this will reduce the amount of wasted vaccines.

Monroe County Health Administrator Penny Caudill said the health department will share statistics on COVID-19 variants in Monroe County when they receive that information from the State.

Bloomington Plan Commission

The Bloomington Plan Commission discussed turning a downtown hotel into apartments. At the April 12th meeting, Zoning and Long Ranger Planner Keegan Gulick petitioned for the conversion of the Wingate and Wyndham hotel into an apartment complex. He said all 85 hotel rooms would be converted into individual apartments. Architect Gene Goldstein clarified the apartments would be smaller than one bedroom apartments.

Commissioner Beth Cate asked for the planned cost of rent.