Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By TOM LAVENTURE
Ironwood — The Ironwood City Commission on Tuesday heard the latest developments on the COVID-19 response in the western Upper Peninsula.
Kate Beer, the health officer and administrator for the Western U.P. Health Department, attended the virtual meeting to report on the state and regional response. Gogebic County has five positive cases and one non-Michigan resident case who is recovering in the area. Houghton County reported two new cases on Tuesday — both travel-related.
“Our big concern still remains that people are coming to the area and not quarantining for 14 days before they visit or go shopping or things of that nature,” Beer said. “We will have to see what kind of impact the reopening will have on our case numbers going forward and we are going to be watching that very closely.”
Two new announcements from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday included an order to expand the types of medical staff who can order a COVID-19 test as part of the goal of testing 15,000 people daily statewide, she said. The effort to reach underserved tribal and rural communities now allows a nurse to provide a COVID-19 testing order where it had required an advance medical order from a physician.
The order creates a new category of community testing sites where anyone can be tested without a physician or paying an out-of-pocket cost, she said. The health department is developing a routine testing plan for the five-county area which could include a mobile unit because not enough are going to fixed testing sites and hospitals.
“People aren’t showing up like we thought they would,” Beer said.
The department is partnering with Upper Great Lakes Family Health Center, which received a Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act grant to expand testing in partnership with local hospitals and health agencies. The mobile unit could be used to meet people where they are in terms of visibility and convenience such as stores or other essential goods.
The order changed as the testing technology decreased the wait time for COVID-19 testing from more than two weeks to under 48 hours, and sometimes under one hour at some hospitals, she said. Supplies are thin but there are some new rapid testing units in the U.P. that can provide results within 15 minutes.
“It’s just a supply and demand kind of thing,” she said.
The order allows anyone who leaves home for work, or has even mild symptoms of COVID-19 to receive a test at a community testing location without a doctor’s order in advance. Others eligible for testing include someone exposed to a person with COVID-19, has worked outside their home for at least 10 days or resides in any congregate setting.
The new order opens up testing to the asymptomatic people, Beer said. Testing is covered by insurance by mandate, generally, and Medicaid covers the cost of testing seniors. Some insurers are hesitant to test asymptomatic people which will now be allowed under the new rule, she said.
The governor also announced Tuesday that a new software system is in place to illustrate COVID-19 risks and trends along with localizing COVID-19 data and outbreak information for each of the state’s economic recovery committee regions. The goal is to quickly identify and track potential outbreaks that might result from returning to work.
Until now the health department staff was able to conduct contact tracking, Beer said. The reopening of the state will present a growing need for widespread testing as more people travel to the area and create higher risks of coronavirus exposure, she said.
“Having people get tested is really a strong surveillance tool for us,” Beer said. “Particularly now that we know that people who are asymptomatic — the people without symptoms — are showing up more and more with the virus.”
Another social aspect of tracking is included in the grant to help ensure people have the ability to shelter in place to self-quarantine for 14 days, she said.
Commissioner Jim Mildren said people are concerned to know what to look for to be sure a medical office is safe once they start visiting physicians, dentists, optometrists, chiropractors and other specialists again soon after not being able to schedule appointments for months.
There is specific guidance for each industry, Beer said. There will be some oversight to check on how cleaning, masking, social distancing and screening of patients and staff is conducted, she said.
“Every industry has its own list of precautions and things to do,” Beer said.
Medical visits are going to be timed so that you are face-to-face with just one person at a time and not for a very long period, she said. “It’s going to change the way we do medicine for quite a while.”
“You’re not going to be in a waiting room with a bunch of people anymore,” Beer said.
As more businesses open and more people are gathering in public it is even more important to continue social distancing, Beer said. Avoid sharing eating utensils, wear a mask and continue to wash hands regularly, she said.
