Leelanau County registers 21 new COVID cases, 81 since April 2, as Michigan leads national surge

From staff reports

Today the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department (BLDHD) reported 21 new cases of COVID-19 in Leelanau County and 12 in Benzie County. Since Friday, April 2, BLDHD has reported 81 cases in Leelanau and 44 cases in Benzie.

As Michigan is battered by a worst-in-the-nation surge in COVID-19 cases, Governor Gretchen Whitmer resisted calls to add new restrictions on Friday, but pleaded with residents to be more vigilant and voluntarily limit activities, reported Bridge Michigan.

Whitmer and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Chief Medical Executive and Chief Deputy for Health, announced recommendations for additional precautionary measures in response to increasing rates of COVID-19 infections. These recommendations include pausing youth sports and in-person instruction for high school students as well as refraining from indoor gatherings due to the increase in rates in COVID-19 infections in these groups.

In keeping with the strong relationships between local health departments and school leadership in northern Michigan, the BLDHD consulted with school superintendents across its region to review local data and conditions today. The health department will continue to support individual school districts in their decisions whether to continue in-person learning or virtual learning or to maintain or pause high school sports based on current available data pertaining to that school district.

In response to the state’s announcement, school and local public health officials discussed not only the state recommendations but also the strong track record that northern school districts have in maintaining in-person instruction throughout the school year as well as individual school data pertaining to student COVID-19 rates. Also, important to consider is the current expanded eligibility and availability of the COVID-19 vaccination.

“We have supported our schools in their efforts to safely maintain important opportunities for students to learn in person throughout this school year,” said health officer Lisa Peacock. “Rather than recommending a widespread pause to in-person education, we will continue supporting the individual school systems to make decisions regarding whether in-person vs. remote education is best and safest for their students and community.”

These decisions are considered very carefully by examining local case numbers—including both community cases and cases within their school population as well as quarantine and isolation-related student absences – and the other pandemic risk indicators such as public health and hospital capacity.

“We know that in-person learning supports the mental health and overall well-being of youth,” Peacock said, adding that each school district has established a plan which outlines actions needed to protect students and teachers to mitigate and prevent the spread of the virus in school settings. “With these factors in mind, each school district is equipped to make the classroom one of the safest places a student can be, and we will continue to support them in making the best decision for their students, staff, and the greater community,” she said.

Peacock noted the situation is fluid and evolving and that the health department and school leaders will continue to monitor data. She also pointed out the health department can exercise the authority to take further action, including requiring closures, and would take such action if needed for the health of the community.

In addition to the required testing of the participants of youth and school sports, the health department is strongly recommending coaches and parents/guardians follow risk mitigation measures when engaging in spring sports activities. Among others, the recommendations include:

• All participants should take temperatures independently (at home) before attending sport activities.
• Participants should stay home if they are sick.
• Participants with known COVID-19 exposure, or participants experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, are not toparticipate and should be instructed to contact their healthcare provider(s) as soon as possible.
• All players, team officials, referees and spectators must wear facial coverings at all times upon arrival to,departure from and during sports activities.
• Participants should maintain proper hygiene habits: avoid touching eyes/nose/mouth, cover coughs and sneezes, and wash and sanitize hands often.
• Players and families should refrain from carpooling to training sessions, games and tournaments with those outside of the family household.“We all have the same goal,” Peacock said, referring to the health department and schools, “and that is to keep our students safe and healthy both physically and mentally. By reviewing our data on a daily basis, keeping up with mitigation measures, and being flexible should things change, we can support our students learning in school and keep our communities safe. The other key factor in this is to get vaccinated and to do so immediately.”