April 22.
2020 COVID-19 Community Report
Today’s message remains the same,
staying home saves lives. It is essential that people continue to stay
home, avoid all non-essential travel and practice social distancing when they
must go out. Residents are reminded having contact with people outside of your
household increases your risk of either getting or spreading the virus. Health
experts continue to stress the importance of staying home and leaving home ONLY
for urgent or essential needs.
The Grand Traverse County Health
Department continues to report 19 positive cases and 5 deaths from COVID-19 in
Grand Traverse County residents. To date, 454 individuals have been tested for
COVID-19 in Grand Traverse County.
Regionally, Munson Healthcare is
reporting COVID-19 testing results on its website for each of
its hospitals throughout northern Michigan. Numbers are listed by the hospital
that provided service and not broken out by county of residence.
Michigan
has reported 33,966 positive cases and 2,813 deaths of COVID-19. 3,237
individuals have recovered from COVID-19. Recovery numbers are difficult to
determine because they lag behind real-time and don’t include unreported mild
cases. Numbers are updated daily.
Health clinics across the region
remain open and ready to safely serve any medical need, including general
health and follow-up care. When immediate medical attention is needed, know
that it is safe to call 9-1-1 and access emergency services at your
local hospital. Pay attention to signs and symptoms of other health issues such
as heart attack or stroke and seek immediate medical attention. Access to
medical care is safe and causes no risk of exposure to COVID-19.
On Thursday, April 23 at 5:30, a
one-hour tele-town hall meeting to address COVID-19 questions and concerns from
the community will be held for Northern Michigan. Grand Traverse County Health
Department Health Officer, Wendy Hirschenberger; Munson Healthcare Chief
Medical Officer, Dr. Christine Nefcy; State Senator Wayne Schmidt (R), and
State Representative, Triston Cole (R) make up the panel of local speakers. To
listen in live and submit a question, call (855) 756-7520 and dial 59754# when prompted.
· Priority Level 3 now includes asymptomatic healthcare
workers or first responders
· Priority Level 4 now includes asymptomatic critical
infrastructure workers
People in these categories may only
be tested if specimen collection and testing capacity remains after serving all
other Priority Level 1 and 2 groups. People who fit the criteria and want to
seek testing still need to contact their healthcare provider, the Munson
Healthcare COVID-19 hotline number 231-935-0951 (press 5 to access the option 7
days a week from 7 am – 7 pm), or the Michigan COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136,
seven days a week from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Grand Traverse County’s three testing
sites are Munson Healthcare
Foster Family Community Health Center, Munson Healthcare
Traverse City, and Northwest Michigan
Health Services.
Anyone experiencing symptoms or suspects they may
have contracted the virus should self-quarantine and call their healthcare
provider or the hotline numbers listed above.
TRUSTED INFORMATION SOURCES
Information around this outbreak is
changing rapidly. Please direct your neighbors to these information resources
for the most current, factual information:
- Grand Traverse
County: For Grand Traverse County COVID-19 updates, visit the official gtcountycovid19.com website and Facebook page.
Residents can also call the hotline at 231-642-3548, view daily updates on
Cable Access Channels 189 and 191, or sign
up to receive daily updates via email. All critical health updates
come from the Grand Traverse County Health
Department and Munson Healthcare, and are immediately posted
throughout the day along with other updates from the Joint Operations
Center (JOC).
- Munson Healthcare:
COVID-19
testing results are reported daily for each Munson Healthcare hospital
in northern Michigan.
- Statewide: Michigan.gov/Coronavirus
- National: CDC.gov/Coronavirus
ABOUT THE JOC
Grand Traverse County’s Joint
Operations Center has been meeting daily to coordinate efforts and
communication on the COVID-19 pandemic since Friday, March 13. Members include
key community partners from health, government, first responders, education,
social service, and business sectors.
BASIC PREVENTION MEASURES
The best prevention for viruses
like COVID-19, influenza, and the common cold is to:
- Wash your hands
often with soap and warm water for 20 seconds. If not available, use hand
sanitizer.
- Avoid touching
your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
- Cover your mouth
and nose with a tissue or upper sleeve when coughing or sneezing.
- Avoid contact with people who are sick.
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