Virus separating Indiana's governor, lieutenant governor

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana's two top state officials have started working apart as cases of the coronavirus illness continue to grow rapidly.

Gov. Eric Holcomb and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch 'œmutually agreed to be in different locations to socially distance themselves,'ť Holcomb spokeswoman Rachel Hoffmeyer said Saturday.

Neither has been tested for the COVID-19 illness so far and both have been feeling healthy, Hoffmeyer told The Associated Press.

Holcomb and Crouch both attended a Statehouse news conference on Wednesday. Hoffmeyer didn't immediately provide information about when the two officials were last together and whether Crouch remained in Indianapolis or had gone to her home in Evansville.

Seven more people have died of coronavirus-related illnesses in Indiana, bringing the state's virus death toll to 31, state health officials said Saturday. Indiana's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases grew by 290 to 1,232, the Indiana State Department of Health said.