For two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our communities and dominated public health efforts to mitigate risk and keep residents safe and informed. As COVID-19 cases and deaths continually decrease, District Health Department #10 (DHD#10) announces, effective immediately, they are transitioning away from providing daily and weekly data and toward utilizing the already robust reporting tools from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). As of March 10, 2022, the CDC announced that more than 98% of the U.S. population is in a location with low or medium COVID-19 Community Level, a welcome and encouraging statement. The CDC is now providing a new way for communities and individuals to decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data through their COVID-19 County Check tool. This simple tool allows individuals to enter their state and county to determine whether their COVID-19 Community Level is Low (green), Medium (yellow), or High (red). Guidance is provided based on each level for individuals to consider following. An interactive map is also displayed of the United States that allows you to see the U.S. as a whole or to click into areas of interest to delve deeper. Likewise, MDHHS recently announced a new three-phase COVID-19 cycle for Michigan as cases and hospitalizations continue to decrease, including:
Currently, Michigan is in the post-surge recovery phase due to decreases in cases in hospitalizations and increased access to vaccines, testing and treatment for COVID-19. Based on current conditions, MDHHS announced the withdrawal of the Public Health Advisory on masking in indoor public settings, including school settings and released updated Masking Guidance. MDHHS also announced updates to the COVID-19 Isolation & Quarantine Guidance for Michigan, including school settings. MDHHS also maintains a data dashboard of state and county-level data on COVID-19 cases, trends, demographics, and testing, as well as vaccine data and other relevant information by topic. “We understand that our transition away from reporting local COVID-19 data may be frustrating to some but given the fact that the state and CDC are already providing pertinent data to help individuals make informed decisions, we can now look to them to guide us,” stated Kevin Hughes, DHD#10 Health Officer. “All local COVID-19 resources and prevention measures will now transfer into our normal public health workflow and our staff will get back to the standard practices we have always provided.” DHD#10’s website will no longer display the COVID-19 data dashboard or local COVID-19 data and will instead link to the CDC’s and MDHHS’s communication tools that are updated weekly. DHD#10 will continue to pass along important guidance and information as the situation evolves and if there is a surge in cases. DHD#10 will continue to provide COVID-19 vaccinations, KN95 masks, and host COVID-19 testing throughout the 10-county jurisdiction as long as the demand for testing exists. KN95 masks are currently available in all 10 DHD#10 offices. Masks are given out 3 per person on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. To find your nearest DHD#10 office, visit www.dhd10.org/clinic-locations/. For those wanting to schedule their COVID-19 vaccine, booster dose and/or flu shot, please visit www.dhd10.org/schedule or call 888-217-3904. For those interested in hosting a COVID-19 vaccine or testing clinic at their location, please complete this registration form: https://bit.ly/3j52rSj. For those needing a COVID-19 test, DHD#10 is hosting testing clinics at various locations throughout their jurisdiction. Find a testing site near you at www.dhd10.org/covid19-testing-clinics. You do not need to be a resident to get tested at any of these clinics. COVID-19 testing also takes place at most pharmacies, urgent cares, and your primary health care provider’s office. You can also find testing in neighboring counties on the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ (MDHHS) site: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/0,9753,7-406-98178_104699_104714-554722--,00.html. DHD#10 does not supply COVID-19 at-home tests; however, test kits are available at most pharmacies. Be sure to call your pharmacy ahead of time, as demand is high. You can also get at-home tests through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the United States Postal Service (USPS) here: https://www.covidtests.gov/. If you have a positive COVID-19 at-home test kit, please report it here: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6715540/Home-Test-Report. Employers are critical to our understanding of outbreaks. If you are an employer and would like to report a positive test result from your organization, please do so at: covidreporting@dhd10.org.
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