This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, November 18th, 2020.

Later in the program, you will hear from Dr. Cameual Wright, the market chief medical officer for Caresource in Indiana, about how to prepare for flu season this year. That interview is coming up in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, WFHB Correspondent Katrine Bruner reports on the importance of recycling after Governor Eric Holcomb declared November 15th as America Recycles Day.

Daily Covid-19 Report:

3,040 - that’s the number of people hospitalized in Indiana because of the Covid-19. The number of hospitalizations is higher today than ever before, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.

565 of those hospitalized hoosiers are in intensive care units, that’s also more than ever before. Four out of five of Indiana’s ICU beds are filled at the moment, half with Covid patients.

Indiana is averaging over 40 deaths per day.Hoosiers are dying of Covid-19 now, at the same rate that they were at the height of the first wave in April.

Over 6,100 new cases of the disease were reported today, and analysts are speculating that that number is likely lower than the actual number, because of reduced reporting and testing on weekends.

6,100 cases would have been record-breaking a couple of a week ago, but Indiana has since passed the 6,000, 7,000, and 8,000 new cases mark.

Locally, Monroe County is averaging close to 100 new cases per day. That’s a county record. The county’s positivity among unique individuals is eleven percent, and that’s caused the county public schools to shift to a hybrid online-in person model for middle and high school students.

Owen, Green, and Brown, Counties each saw between three and 15 new cases today, while Morgan and Jackson Counties saw between 35 to 50 new cases.

This week Indiana University reported over 200 new positive cases at its Bloomington Campus alone. That's a 15 percent increase in new cases from last week. So far, the university has reported that 3,746 people have contracted Covid-19 at its Bloomington campus.

Refusal to Wear Masks at the Statehouse

Only two lawmakers refused to don masks at the state capitol yesterday, both of them Republicans.

Republican lawmakers however, refused to pass a bill, sponsored by Democrats, that would make it a requirement to wear masks in the capitol building.

The state legislature’s refusal to pass an internal mask mandate comes as the two oldest members of the U.S. Senate have both recently contracted Covid-19.

Bloomington City Council Climate Action and Resilience 

The Bloomington City Council Climate Action and Resilience Committee held a discussion of Bloomington’s Draft Climate Action Plan during their November 17th meeting. Assistant Director of Sustainability Lauren Travis presented the report.

Travis mentioned building energy would see the most reduction effort. She stated plan implementation would create cost savings. Travis reported increased solar powered buildings would be the most effective reduction strategy. Council member Isabel Piedmont-Smith questioned how cost savings were calculated.

Travis said she was unsure of the calculations. Council member Dave Rollo said the plan lacked prairie implementation.

Council member Matt Flaherty questioned what changes could be expected for the Draft Plan. Travis said changes could be made for document accuracy, alignment with current policy, and implementation practices for particular organization plans.

Bloomington Redevelopment Commission 

The Bloomington Redevelopment Commission approved the purchase of 423 West Second Street, between the B-Line trail and Indiana University Health Hospital. During their November 16th meeting, Director of Economic and Sustainable Development Alex Cro...