Community updates: Wednesday, July 15

Kent County Health Department urges face covering use as county's COVID-19 case rise continues

With Kent County’s test positivity rate for COVID-19 rising in recent weeks, and a statewide face covering requirement to boot, the Kent County Health Department (KCHD) is urging residents to keep wearing their face coverings in public.

In the KCHD’s video update on Wednesday, KCHD Director Dr. Adam London said the county’s test positivity rate has increased from 3.5% to 4% in the past several weeks – despite the fact that tests per day in the county have nearly doubled during the same time.

“As we do more testing, we actually would expect our test positivity rate to decline,” said London. “So the fact that it’s increasing is a red flag to us that this is not going away any time soon.”

Up until a few weeks ago, around 900-1,000 tests were being conducted in Kent County per day. Now, around 1,700-1,800 test are being conducted, thanks to increased capacity at hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and the KCHD’s testing sites.

In response, London said face covering use, by those medically able to tolerate them, can help bring the positivity rate back down.

“I’ve gone through a stack of scientific literature with you in previous weeks,” London said of studies he shared proving the effectiveness of face coverings in reducing COVID-19's transmission. “That body of literature continues to grow.”

Studies cited by London in a June 15 video update include those published in journals such as Infectious Disease Modelling, The Proceedings of the Royal Society, and Risk Analysis.

“The reality is they reduce risk,” the director said. “And reducing risk right now is the name of the game. Reduce risk, and buy time.”

“If we do those things, we can continue to reopen, we can continue to keep transmission low, we can avoid overwhelming our healthcare systems. We can do things like getting back to school and so many of the other things that we all want to do.”

Resources for mitigating COVID-19’s spread are available on the KCHD’s COVID-19 page, including those in multiple languages.

Gov. Whitmer extends Michigan’s state of emergency through August 11

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday extended Michigan’s state of emergency and disaster declarations related to COVID-19 through August 11.

The state of emergency and disaster extensions enable the governor to continue issuing executive orders that have limited public activities over much of the last several months, such as the lifted “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order and capacity restrictions – if she deems them necessary.

“COVID-19 has now killed more than 6,000 people in Michigan,” Whitmer said. “That’s more than 6,000 of our parents, grandparents, friends, and neighbors. And the rising numbers we’ve seen over the past few weeks prove that this virus is still a very real threat in our state.”

The state of emergency declaration was previously set to expire at 11:59pm on July 16. It will now expire at 11:59pm on August 11.

The full executive order extending the declarations is available on Whitmer’s official website.

Grand Rapids Public Museum hosting Smithsonian "Outbreak" exhibition starting August 1

The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announced on Wednesday it will host the Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World exhibition, organized by the Smithsonian, starting August 1.

The exhibition explores how pathogens can spread to people from wildlife and livestock, why some outbreaks become epidemics, and how human, animal, and environmental health are all connected.

“As an educational institution, it’s important for the museum to host an exhibit that’s relevant to today’s events,” said Dr. Cory Redman, the GRPM’s Science Curator. “Through an informative and immersive exhibit experience, information related to the COVID-19 pandemic will be shared, along with stories submitted from the West Michigan community about how this current health crisis has affected daily lives.”

The GRPM will be including a section related to its community documentation project of daily life during the pandemic.

Outbreak will be presented in English and Spanish at the museum, and runs through October 18, 2020.

More details about the exhibition and the GRPM’s COVID-related safety measures are available on the GRPM’s website.

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