News Photo by Crystal Nelson People wear masks and observe social distancing requirements while waiting for service at the Hungry Hippie on Tuesday, when the business opened its State Avenue location for the summer season.

ALPENA — Northeast Michigan will “learn to live with COVID” as Michigan begins to reopen, public health officials told the District Health Department No. 4 board on Tuesday.

Denise Bryan, health officer for District Health Departments No. 2 and No. 4, said she was notified over the weekend the state intended to partially reopen.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Monday she would allow retail stores, restaurants, and offices in much of northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula to reopen on Friday. However, Alcona County is not included in the region allowed to reopen.

Businesses who choose to reopen in those regions are required to adopt safety measures, including providing training to employees about how to stay safe in the workplace. Restaurants and bars will also have to limit seating to 50% of capacity.

Bryan said local health departments and rural communities will now work together to stay safe while bolstering the economy.

“It’s a big pivot,” she said. “We all know we could not stay locked in our houses forever.”

But Bryan also worries for residents and guests about the potential of increased traffic to the region, as well as people who disregard safety precautions such as face masks and social distancing at six feet apart.

Health Department Medical Director Josh Meyerson said data suggests the region is ready to partially reopen and noted the rest of the state will be watching to see how things unfold.

Health officials reported two more Alcona County residents infected with the coronavirus on Tuesday, but said 18 more people had recovered.

That brings the total number of Northeast Michigan residents who have been infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, to 115, including 91 infected Alpena County residents, 11 Presque Isle County residents, eight Alcona County residents, and five Montmorency County residents.

But 35 of those people have recovered, including 27 Alpena County residents, three Presque Isle County residents, three Montmorency County residents, and two Alcona County residents. Infected individuals are considered recovered either 30 days from testing positive or from the onset of symptoms.

A total of 10 people in Northeast Michigan have died while infected with the virus, including nine Alpena County residents and one Alcona County resident.

Statewide, 52,350 people are infected and 5,017 have died.

Meyerson said he thinks some retailers and restaurants will reopen and others won’t, which he said is OK. He said businesses need to be ready and must have procedures in place and staff protected.

“We will try to be available to them to provide guidance and get them the tools they need to open up safely,” he said. “I think, in the community, everybody is in a different place — some people are ready to go out and have a meal at a restaurant, and some people are not — and that’s OK, too.”

INFECTION TIED TO GAYLORD TRAVEL

When a person becomes infected, Bryan said, staff have traced the people with whom the infected person came into contact or where the infected person was prior to showing symptoms or receiving their confirmed diagnosis. She said that contact tracing showed many cases in Cheboygan County were linked to travel to Gaylord.

Looking at data from May 15, Bryan said “a large percentage” of Alpena County cases were tied to an outbreak at MediLodge. Two of the 11 cases reported as Presque Isle County were misrepresented because the infected people were patients at MediLodge of Alpena but listed their home address as being in Presque Isle County.

CASH CONCERNS

Health Department leadership also expressed concerns about funding and cash flow for the year.

Deputy Health Officer Judy Greer said the Health Department would receive $155,000 from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to help with coronavirus-related expenses. Greer said that, although the Health Department can make up some revenue by adding more clinics going forward, some revenue is probably “lost completely.”

The Health Department has been able to continue its maternal health services by telephone, Greer said, but had to postpone other services until they could reopen safely. The Health Department has reopened its immunization clinic and plans to reopen its family planning clinic this week, Greer said, noting patient volume is not like it was in the past because of social distancing requirements. She said Health Department officials don’t have a complete plan yet of how they will reopen everything up. Those canceled and scaled-back services have meant less revenue.

Health Department officials have previously noted incident command operates seven days a week, and Health Department staff work to contact each infected individual, complete contact tracing, and arrange for any medical or grocery needs while a patient is in quarantine. Those additional hours have meant additional expenses.

Meyerson, the medical director, anticipates the Health Department will feel some financial strain because of the pandemic. He said it’s “distressing” to hear of health departments who are strained financially, and said he doesn’t know how the need for public health could be any more apparent to people.

“We need strong public health action at the federal level and the state level, but, when it comes down to it all, public health happens locally and you need a strong public health agency if you want to monitor and have good surveillance, testing, and contact rates,” he said. “All of those things happen at the local level — the relationships the community needs happen at a local level.”

Board Chairman and Alpena County Commissioner Bob Adrian said Greer is also applying for funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Adrian said the grants will be “heavily scrutinized” and funding cannot be used to reimburse employees working normal hours. Additionally, he said anything that’s a result of the governor’s directives is not reimbursable through FEMA.

“Every dollar we go after — whether it’s the counties or the health department — is going to be a fight,” he said.

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.