Dr. Annette Mercatante, Medical Health Officer for the St. Clair County Health Department, provided an update to local media on Wednesday to discuss the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rescission of quarantine orders, and containing other respiratory viruses that are circulating in our communities.
After a period where COVID-19 cases were on the rise, Dr. Mercatante said that current data suggests that the county is approaching a plateau of new cases. As of Wednesday, October 20, 2021, the Health Department’s website showed 1,211 active cases of the virus with 12.64% of inpatient hospital beds being used for COVID-19 patients.
The Health Department’s Quarantine order was rescinded at the end of September and replaced with recommendations for quarantine. Dr. Mercatante reports that while there are a small number of people pushing back against the recommendations when public health nurses contact them about exposure to the virus, morale remains high, and nurses are continuing to perform contact tracing duties to inform the public and attempt to reduce transmission.
As cold and flu season approach, Dr. Mercatante wants to remind the public that the same practices that reduce the transmission of COVID-19 will work for other respiratory viruses. She recommends masking, hand washing, and physical distancing to avoid getting others sick.
“Every layer that burdens the health care system creates problems,” said Dr. Mercatante. She also noted that Michigan’s major hospitals have issued statements about RSV as cases have been much higher than normal around the U.S. since summer.
RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, primarily affects children and can be serious for babies or kids with immune issues. To learn more about the virus in Michigan, visit Children’s Hospital’s website here: https://www.childrensdmc.org/news/newsroom/another-respiratory-virus-rsv-is-surging-in-michigan-children
Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand
