Justin L. Mack and Chris Sikich | Indianapolis Star

Jenna Watson, jenna.watson@indystar.com

As Gov. Eric Holcomb prepares to announce how he will reopen Indiana's economy, the mayor of the state's most significant city extended its stay-at-home order another two weeks.

Mayor Joe Hogsett's announcement Thursday came not only the day before Holcomb is set to deliver his news, but also on the very day that Indiana reached a tragic milestone: More than 1,000 Hoosiers have now died as a result of the virus.

Given Holcomb's scheduled announcement, the timing of Hogsett's new order might seem curious. Nevertheless, both the governor, who is a Republican, and the mayor, a Democrat, indicated they were on the same page.

Hogsett said he wanted to provide predictability for Indianapolis, which he noted as the state's urban hub faces unique challenges. Marion County has the highest number of coronavirus deaths and cases.

"I want to take time at the very outset," Hogsett said at his news conference Thursday, "to thank Gov. Holcomb for the effort that he and his staff, (and the) state of Indiana Department of Public Health have made. I believe that they will pay dividends not only throughout Indiana, but particularly here in Indianapolis when we are ready to start that process."

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At his own briefing later Thursday, Holcomb said the state's reopening will come in stages and it's not a one-size fits all proposition. He said he supports cities that choose to have stricter standards than the state, including the capitol.

"I fully support Mayor Hogsett," Holcomb said. "Local jurisdictions can always be stricter than what we have said. This has been the case in the state of Indiana. We will seek to 100% of the time work with those local officials."

The nearby cities of Noblesville, Westfield and Fishers all said they would await direction from Holcomb before announcing further plans.

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard acknowledged that if neighboring cities have different open-for-business rules, it could messy.

"It does not make sense for a business on one side of 96th Street to be closed if a competitive business on the other side of the street is open," Brainard said in a Thursday afternoon statement.

Holcomb didn't say much to tease details of his plans, only reiterating the roll out will be over a period of time.

"When we roll out our next steps that put Indiana back on track tomorrow at 2:30," Holcomb said, "we will roll that out in stages. This will not just be back to normal, or business as we used to do it. This is going to be very methodical and data driven."

Indy closes for two more weeks, including Simon malls

At Hogsett's morning briefing, the mayor acknowledged he was getting ahead of Holcomb's Friday announcement. The mayor, though, said he's been working closely with the governor and would maintain the city's stay-at-home order to the extent possible under Holcomb's forthcoming orders.

"In order to provide predictability and certainty for the residents of the city of Indianapolis," Hogsett said, "I want to send a clear message: Our sacrifices are working. But to the greatest extent allowable under the new state order, we will be maintaining our current stay-at-home restriction for another two weeks."

He also seemed to chide Simon Property Group, which announced earlier this week it will begin reopening it's malls nationwide on Saturday.

Hogsett said Simon hadn't contacted him about those plans, but noted most retail establishments, including malls, will remain closed under his executive orders. He said Simon and city officials planned to discuss the matter late Thursday.

Asked about the matter, the governor didn't sound worried about Simon at this point.

"They have said they will comply with both local and state standards and I take them at their word," Holcomb said.

Simon officials did not immediately return a message for comment.

According to a memo on its website, Simon Property Group plans to open Circle Centre Mall and the Fashion Mall at Keystone Saturday as part of its reopening plans for more than 40 malls across 10 states.

Simon owns five malls in the Indianapolis area: Castleton Square, Circle Centre Mall, Greenwood Park Mall, Hamilton Town Center and the Fashion Mall at Keystone.

Simon plans to reopen malls Saturday: But Indianapolis says that's not feasible

Dr. Virginia A. Caine, director and chief medical officer of the Marion County Public Health Department, said she was "very concerned" about allowing retail establishments of that size to reopen at this time.

"It would just increase our numbers dramatically, put other citizens at risk, and it may undo all the good work we have put in place related to our shelter-in-place and stay-at-home philosophies. Huge concerns," Caine said. She then cited an uptick in cases in Georgia after businesses there were allowed to reopen.

Deputy Mayor Thomas Cook said that while the malls won't reopen, there is great benefit to businesses of all sizes putting in the work to reopen.

"To the extent that the actual date of their reopening of their local facilities may be in question," he said, "I will say that the work that I believe they are doing to analyze and adopt best practices will bear fruit when we do come to point where those kinds of openings can occur."

Marion County hit hard by coronavirus

Caine said that compared to the rest of the state, Indianapolis has unique challenges like densely populated neighborhoods and large commerce centers.

Because of that, Marion County is still seeing more than 100 new cases each day. She commended residents for the actions they have taken so far, but expressed that we still have a long way to go.

As of Thursday, Marion County had 328 of the state's 1,007 deaths attributed to coronavirus and more than 5,500 of the more than 17,800 cases.

Officials said restaurants may continue to offer carry-out or delivery services. Grocery stores, pharmacies and other essential businesses will remain open.

All Marion County residents are asked to wear a face mask or covering in public and continue to maintain good hygiene, frequent handwashing and proper social distancing.

Caine also announced plans for the return of local golf courses and farmers’ markets. Beginning Saturday, area golf courses and farmers' markets are allowed to reopen, provided operators ensure proper social distancing and strict sanitation practices are implemented.

Hogsett knows people are ready to return to normal

Hogsett said he knows the stay-at-home order is frustrating but he said we're all in this together.

"I know that continues to be disruptive, and in many cases, I'm sure that it is disappointing," Hogsett said. "In a perfect world, we would remove all the restrictions and not worry about this anymore. But we all know this isn't a perfect world."

Hogsett said the decision to keep local travel restrictions in place is not one city and country leaders came to lightly, nor did they come to it on their own.

"Health officials at every level, along with the lived experience of our city's brave healthcare workers, have all told us the same thing. And that message has been loud and clear," he said. "We are not in the clear yet."

But Hogsett assured residents that they are gathering the tools and information they need to reopen. His hope is that with additional guidance from the state coming as early as Friday, city and county officials will be able to provide more information about how the county can reopen over the next few months.

Hogsett said he expects state, county and city leaders to come to agreement about how Indianapolis will reopen, and how that differs from the rest of the state.

"We are winning this fight," he said, "but what we do today (and) what we do tomorrow matters just as much, if not more, than what we have already done."

When asked how local leaders will handle it if state guidance released tomorrow directly clashes with Thursday's extension, Hogsett said it will be a collaborative effort.

"The governor has to keep into consideration the needs, the desires, the pressures and the vulnerability of all 92 counties," he said. "Dr. Caine and I have the unique responsibility of charting a course for the city of Indianapolis and the Marion County residents."

"I don't think we will be at odds with the governor," he continued. "But if the state, through our governor tomorrow, articulates fundamentally different directives or lessens restrictions, we certainly will work with them in trying to implement those as consistently as the message we're offering today."

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at 317-444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.