Calhoun County Public Health Department To End Covid-19 Quarantine Requirements
According to Calhoun County Health Officer Eric Pessell in their Joint Information Center update (JIC) Eric announced that they will be withdrawing their COVID-19 quarantine requirements that have been in place since May of 2021. This new order will be effective on Monday, February 21, 2022, at 12 a.m..
Eric Pessell said:
The CCPHD has decided to revoke their quarantine order…there will no longer be an order for quarantine but we will recommend folks quarantine if they are close contacts, especially in the workplace for at least five days and test on day six.
He went on to say:
Also, I think that there will be some information coming out about masking across the state of Michigan. That may come out later today and I think the biggest takeaway and the messaging coming across, and, there's going to be a lot of messaging so I encourage folks to work through it all and try not to get confused because that's what I'm afraid of, that there's going to be so many different messages, we won't know which one to trust. But, bottom line, as we move forward, we're going to empower community members to make the best choices for themselves in their situation.
We are also informed that Calhoun County's Covid-19 infection rate is down to a 16% positive rate this week down from a high of more than 33% one month ago.
Calhoun and Kalamazoo Counties Medical Director Dr. William Nettleton said:
we're entering a kind of another phase where the risk is decreasing at a time when we have the availability of multiple mitigation measures available to us…whether that be high quality, well-fitting masks, vaccinations, boosters and medical therapeutics such as pills and also monoclonal antibody treatment early to prevent the spread of severe disease. So when the evidence changes and when the situation changes, public health recommendations change, too. And, that includes when we increase mitigation measures and also when we decrease mitigation measures as well.
Health Officer Pessell stated that as of yesterday there were 17 people hospitalized in Calhoun County and one of the county's two hospitals has zero patients in critical care with COVID-19 disease.
Here is the video of Calhoun Counties JIC update:
Yesterday the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued new guidance on masking indoors. They have dropped their public health advisories regarding mask usage in most indoor public settings and K-12 schools. They stated they did this as Michigan enters a "post-surge recovery phase."
In their guidance they stated:
"Moving forward, the COVID-19 response cycle can be broken down into three key phases:
- Response – Local and state public health implement rapid response to a surge. The public may be advised to increase masking, testing and social distancing.
- Recovery – Post-surge. No immediate resurgence predicted. Local and state public health will monitor conditions that could lead to future surges.
- Readiness – A surge in cases is expected, with implications on severity of illness and hospital capacity. Increased communication to the public regarding possible new risks"