The Fournier Insurance Agency has relocated their office from Pine Grove Avenue in Port Huron to the Arashi Lofts building. Arashi Lofts is located in downtown Port Huron on the Black River at the corner of Quay and Military Streets.

The Fournier Insurance Agency is an exclusive Allstate agency, owned Rusty Fournier. Fournier has been an award-winning Allstate agent for 24 years, and has been in the insurance industry for 37 years in both St. Clair and Macomb counties. The agency staff has been working from home since March 23rd due to the coronavirus statewide shutdown but hopes to return to their new office as soon as permissible.

Allstate agents at the Fournier Agency are gearing up for major changes in auto insurance as a result of insurance reform in Michigan slated to take effect on July 1st. In an effort to reduce auto insurance rates, auto owners will now have the option to choose varying limits of liability. For more information about the Rusty Fournier Allstate Insurance Agency, visit their Facebook page or website.

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn

Initial manufacturing of a COVID-19 vaccine will take place in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the first healthy volunteers in the U.S. and Germany have been injected as part of the clinical trial.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a press release, “This is great news for our families, our neighbors, and those serving on the front lines during this crisis. COVID-19 has shown how vulnerable our country is when it comes to supply chain and much of the lifesaving materials we need are manufactured out of the country. That’s why we are so proud that one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the world is the Pfizer site right here in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In fact, Michigan has a strong history of vaccine development with the polio and anthrax vaccines. Pfizer is a great partner and the State of Michigan and our strong manufacturing roots stand ready to serve.”

Even though there is limited knowledge about how immunity works with COVID-19, researchers are moving forward using information about other coronaviruses and research on how antibodies neutralize viruses. Pfizer is testing more than one version of the vaccine to determine safety and immune response.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home of Port Huron, a nonprofit assisted living facility for low income seniors, has announced it will conduct a virtual fundraiser to replace its annual spring community luncheon.

The “2020 Spring Friendraising Campaign” was kicked off this week with a direct mail, email and social media campaign. The local nonprofit is hoping to raise $20,000 via the campaign. A group of donors has pledged $8,000 in matching funds, so all donations made to the campaign up to $8,000 will be doubled.

“Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home provides affordable, comfortable, and safe assisted living to the aging community,” said Kathy Swantek, executive director of Blue Water Developmental Housing, Inc., a nonprofit that manages SGMH.”An integral part of the Sanborn Gratiot mission is reserving space for residents who are unable to pay for services. The funds raised at the luncheon each year contribute greatly to helping us meet that need and fulfill our mission.”

Swantek noted that Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home provides a place to live for residents of St. Clair County who might otherwise have nowhere to go. “We recently welcomed a female resident from Clay Township,” said Swantek. “Her neighbors called for help because she was in great medical distress. She received a diagnosis of terminal cancer, and she lost her home due to excessive medical expenses. She was homeless. We were able to provide a home for her so she can live out the rest of her life in a warm, comfortable and safe space surrounded by new friends.”

Both Corporate Sponsorships and Individual Donations are being accepted during the campaign, which runs now through May 31, 2020. For more information about the campaign, or to make a donation online, please visit the 2020 Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home Spring Friendraising Campaign Eventbrite page <HERE>.

Since 1944, Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home has provided quality assisted living to lower income seniors, many of whom had no other housing alternative. Sanborn Home is the only “licensed home for the aged” in St. Clair County and the only senior residence with a mission to serve lower income individuals.

It is the mission of Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home to provide an affordable, comfortable, safe, assisted living home to the aging community while striving to maintain a high quality of life for our residents through social activities and family involvement.

A new website launched by the Province of Ontario, Canada, is designed to help businesses overcome the unique challenges created by this pandemic. Businesses are encouraged to submit any potential roadblocks they are facing, or learning how to continue operations while implementing social distancing.

Ontario Premier Ford in a statement said, “As [a] government, we must be prepared to work with businesses and show some flexibility in helping them to overcome challenges they may have never faced before.” The provincial government is hoping this website will help them to hear the issues small businesses in Ontario are facing, so they can help them adapt in these changing times.

Some steps already taken to help small businesses include: providing $10 billion in provincial tax deferrals, providing more than $900 million in urgent relief to small businesses, and providing $50 million to help manufacturers and distilleries retool, so they can produce health-related products and supplies. The province has also been permitting 24-hour construction for critical infrastructure, 24-hour deliveries in every municipality across the province to help grocery stores and pharmacies keep shelves stocked, and allowing restaurants and bars to sell alcohol with food takeout and delivery.

On Monday, following advice from Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, certain businesses and workplaces may reopen as long as they comply with strict public health measures and operate safely. Additional details are available on the Province of Ontario’s website <HERE>

To visit the website, Google COVID-19 Tackling the Barriers or click <HERE>.

There are four critical, essential steps in preventing the spread of disease: testing, isolation, contact tracing and quarantine. If any steps are missing, a virus can continue to spread. Public health uses this process in all communicable disease outbreak investigations, including COVID-19.

The St. Clair County Health Department has been continuously working on controlling community spread of COVID-19 through the contact tracing process. Public health nurses contact every individual with a confirmed COVID-19 result, interview them, assess symptoms, document where they have been, and identify any close contacts. Close contacts of a confirmed case are considered high risk and are also notified directly. This process is critical in helping control a disease outbreak situation.

Dr. Annette Mercatante, Medical Health Officer, of the St. Clair County Health Department explains, “This work is time consuming, demanding and has been a 7 day a week process since St. Clair County’s first case in early March. Since March, over 3,100 hours of St. Clair County Health Department staff’s time has been spent on contact tracing for COVID-19, utilizing 80% of our nursing team.  This is four times greater than the normal amount of hours spent on routine communicable disease investigations.”

Additionally, the Health Department is asking for the public’s help in answering their phones and returning voicemails left by our staff. Typically, many people who don’t recognize a number ignore the call. During this pandemic, we ask that you please answer, as it may be our staff reaching out with critical health information.

Below are some tips to help identify legitimate calls involving COVID-19:

The St. Clair County Health Department will NOT:

• Request personal financial information, a social security number or driver’s license number
• Ask for Medicaid or other insurance information for billing purposes
• Offer medication for treatment or prevention of COVID-19

The St. Clair County Health Department WILL ask about:

• Current health status
• Symptoms an individual may be experiencing
• Names of close contacts
• Places someone may have visited in recent days
• Other health-related questions

If an individual has concerns about a call they received, please contact the St. Clair County Health Department at (810) 987-5300.