Benzie-Leelanau Health Department reports single-day record 20 new COVID cases Thursday

From staff reports

Today, the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department reports a single-day record 20 new COVID-19 cases— 11 in Leelanau County and 9 in Benzie County. Yesterday the Health Department reported 11 cases—8 in Leelanau and 3 in Benzie.

Two potential low-risk exposure sites include the Boyne City vs Glen Lake Football Game at Glen Lake High School on November 6 and the Leland vs Suttons Bay Varsity Volleyball Game in Suttons Bay on November 7.

If you were at either of these locations during the dates identified, the Health Department encourages you to monitor yourself for symptoms of COVID-19 (cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste/smell, fever, muscle aches, sore throat, fatigue, headache, runny nose/congestion, vomiting, diarrhea). If symptoms develop, notify your health care provider or seek out testing.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released guidance earlier this week for local health departments to realign priorities in case investigation and contact tracing as surging cases strain the public health system. The core principles of case investigation are to:

• Ensure anyone who is positive for COVID-19 is aware of that status (through test results or symptoms/exposure)
• Educate people who have tested positive about isolation and household spread
• Identify close contacts of those who have tested positive and inform them of their need to quarantine to prevent secondary transmission
• Identify the source of exposure for those who have tested positive

“Due to the surge in cases, every day we must prioritize our new cases according to these new guidelines, but our goal is to always attempt to contact all new positive cases,” stated Lisa Peacock, Health Officer. “We continue our usual work of identifying positive cases as quickly as possible, but now we must prioritize the highest risk cases. These include cases at high risk for rapid spread or spread to those at risk for severe illness such as school staff, healthcare staff, and those living in congregate settings as well as prioritizing confirmed before probable cases. We are also using abbreviated versions of the case investigation so that isolation and quarantine can be initiated as quickly as possible, which is why we need everyone to understand and follow the instructions for isolation and quarantine even if we haven’t been able to contact you.”

As of 4 pm today, the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department is reporting:

Positive COVID-19 cases in the following counties: Benzie– 182, Leelanau– 223

Active COVID-19 cases in the following counties: Benzie– 94, Leelanau– 102

Recovered COVID-19 cases in the following counties: Benzie– 85, Leelanau– 119

Confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the following counties: Benzie – 3, Leelanau– 2

Probable COVID-19 cases in the following counties: Benzie – 25, Leelanau– 21

Hospitalized: 29 total; 3 current

The State of Michigan has reported 236,225 cases and 7,811 deaths.