WFYI's Jill Ditmire spoke with Deputy Director for Horticulture and Natural Resources Jonathan Wright about the decision to close Newfields, and when it might reopen its gardens and the Fairbanks 100 Acres Art and Nature Park.

Nursing homes and senior living facilities in places like Indiana, Illinois and Iowa have experienced dozens COVID-19 cases and deaths. Now, these places are facing a lot of pressure to keep residents safe -- and occupied.

WFYI's JIll Ditmire spoke with Lawrence Central High School theater teacher Kathleen Clark Horrigan about finishing the school year with distance-learning, and how she changed the curriculum to help students process the disruption and fear.

The state's largest school district, Indianapolis Public Schools, begins its remote learning plan Thursday. It will be the first day of learning since March 12, when the Indianapolis Mayor ordered all public schools to close amidst the surging coronavirus pandemic.

Marion County again had the most new COVID-19 cases reported Thursday, at 127, raising its total to 2,415 or about 38 percent of Indianas total.

Decatur County and two other counties in southeast Indiana have among the highest per-capita infection rates in the country, topping the Seattle area and some counties near hard-hit Detroit.

The ACLU's request noted prisons and jails are particularly vulnerable to disease outbreaks. And it urged the state to -- at least temporarily -- release jail and prison inmates who are in high-risk categories from the virus.

Gov. Eric Holcombs Stay-At-Home order limits gatherings to no more than 10 people though some churches throughout the state have flouted that restriction in recent weeks.

The Indiana State Department of Health reported 42 additional deaths Thursday, bringing the states total to 245. The state announced 6,351 total confirmed cases, with more than 32,000 Hoosiers tested.

A map of where children can get free meals in Indianapolis. More than 150,000 students in Marion County are out of school due to closures over the coronavirus.