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‘Very concerning’: 9 infected at MediLodge, fire chief says

News File Photo The exterior of MediLodge of Alpena is seen last week in this News file photo.

ALPENA — Five residents and four staff members at MediLodge of Alpena have been infected with the coronavirus, Alpena Fire Chief Bill Forbush told the Alpena Municipal Council on Monday.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether those numbers are included in the 15 infected Alpena County residents reported by District Health Department No. 4. The Health Department has provided little information about any of the confirmed infections.

An elderly woman who lived at MediLodge died last week. Health officials confirmed after her death she had COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Across the country, nursing homes have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus, which is especially dangerous to the elderly and those with preexisting conditions.

The state on Monday mandated nursing homes provide daily data reports to state health officials and set up additional resources to help nursing homes prevent the spread of the virus.

“It is very concerning to us,” Forbush told the council. “It appears that things are starting to ramp down downstate and things are starting to ramp up in Alpena. In the case of a MediLodge, if we use the same model used in other long-term care facilities across the country, there are 109 residents there, and most will probably contract the disease and as many as half could die of it. That would be a huge, huge hit to our community, and I’m very, very concerned.”

Forbush stressed that that is based on national models and not necessarily what will happen at MediLodge. He also said MediLodge has taken all of the right steps to help prevent the spread of the disease.

As of Monday, 25 Northeast Michigan residents have been confirmed infected: 15 in Alpena County, two in Presque Isle County, and four each in Montmorency and Alcona counties.

Statewide, 32,000 cases and nearly 2,500 deaths have been reported.

As more testing is done, more positive cases will be announced, Forbush said, and it is very possible more MediLodge residents will be confirmed infected. He also said the rumor that MediLodge is accepting COVID-19 patients from downstate is untrue.

Forbush urged residents to stay home, stay safe, and keep washing your hands, cover your cough if you have one, and wear a mask if you are forced to go out in public.

For the most part, people are adhering to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order that Michiganders stay home unless absolutely necessary, Alpena Police Chief Joel Jett told the council.

But city police have documented seven complaints of people who have not complied. No citations have been written, but some cases have been sent to the Alpena County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

He said police and fire continue to use proper personal protection equipment and have increased cleaning and sterilization of vehicles and equipment. So far, none of his staff have become ill or shown signs of COVID-19, Jett said.

“We have been very fortunate not to have any of the officers come down sick,” he said. “Other departments cannot make that claim, and some departments have been decimated by this virus.”

Forbush said his staff is also in good health so far and all employees are monitored every 12 hours for any signs of coronavirus.

He said the department has worked out a plan with Alpena Community College for temporary housing for first responders who may need to be quarantined or don’t want to go home after work and risk exposing their families. He didn’t elaborate on the plan.

“We have a number of young parents there, and this allows them to self-isolate if they want,” he said. “These are people who aren’t yet sick, but being cautious.”

MORE LOCAL DATA AVAILABLE

While the Health Department has provided few details about COVID-19 patients, the department on Monday launched a new coronavirus dashboard providing broader data about the virus’ local spread.

At District Health Department No. 4, which serves Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, and Cheboygan counties, the data shows:

∫ Of the 35 confirmed infected residents, 12 have been 70 or older, 12 are between the ages of 50 and 69, and 11 are between 18 and 49 years old.

∫ About 41% of those infected have been male, 55% female, and the gender is unknown for the rest

∫ Public health officials have traced 93 people who have come in contact with infected people.

At District Health Department No. 2, which serves Alcona, Iosco, Ogemaw and Oscoda counties:

∫ Six patients have been 70 or older, seven have been between 50 and 69, and 15 have been 18 to 49 years old

∫ 39% of patients have been male, and 61% female

∫ Public health officials have traced 89 people who have come in contact with infected people.

District Health Department No. 2 also reports that 10 people in its service area have recovered from COVID-19.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that seven complaints of violations of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-home order have been documented by Alpena police, but no citations have been written. That information was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.

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