Monthly Archives: May 2020

(May 20, 2020 3:22 PM) The Jackson County Health Department today released a graphical map of Jackson County showing COVID-19 positive cases by city and township.  The Health Department is mapping cases using the GIS system and database as part of their contact tracing activities.  The map shows cumulative cases through May 19. Rashmi Travis, Health Officer, said the Department will be providing an updated map weekly, to be released on Fridays. Last week, JCHD began providing a weekly report of COVID-19 recovered cases.  As of last Friday, May 15, there are 247 persons in Jackson County who have recovered from COVID-19. JCHD this week also released its updated Business Toolkit for resources and links for all employers to monitor COVID-19 in their worksites and implement strategies to protect their workforce while ensuring continuity of operations. The toolkit, along with links to a variety of resources, can be found here.

(May 20, 2020 2:25 PM) Michigan’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose sharply in April to 22.7 percent, a monthly jump of 18.4 percentage points, according to data released today by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget. Employment in Michigan plunged by 1,130,000, while the number of unemployed grew by 839,000, resulting in a labor force drop of 291,000 over the month. The large monthly unemployment rate advance reflected a continuing and deepening of the pandemic’s impact on the workforce, as most COVID-19-related layoffs began in the second half of March and continued through April. The national unemployment rate grew significantly by 10.3 percentage points in April to 14.7 percent. Michigan’s rate was 8.0 percentage points above the U.S. rate. Over the year, the national jobless rate advanced by 11.1 percentage points, while the state rate climbed by 18.4 percentage points. “April’s historic unemployment rate and job declines reflected the first full month of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the state’s labor market,” said Jason Palmer, director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. “Job losses were widespread across all industry sectors, with especially large employment reductions in leisure and hospitality and manufacturing.” Monthly labor force…

(May 20, 2020 12:16 PM) The Jackson County Health Department released the COVID-19 positive numbers for Jackson County.  As of 12:00 PM today, there are 421 positive cases (cumulative), and 26 deaths (cumulative)*.    Cumulative recovered** patients (cumulative): 247 (updated weekly, as of May 15). The Michigan Department of Corrections is reporting as of 7 PM Tuesday, there are 1,041 confirmed positive cases are at Jackson facilities, 146 Confirmed Positive Jackson staff. As of 6 AM on Wednesday, May 20, there are 16 individuals with positive COVID-19 results who are inpatients at Henry Ford Allegiance Health. To date, a total of 125 positive COVID-19 HFAH inpatients have been treated and discharged. *These numbers do not reflect any cases or deaths identified through Michigan Department of Corrections.  Their numbers are listed under a separate category "Others" for the Michigan Statistics. **Recovered is defined as the number of persons with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis who are alive 30 days post-onset (or referral date if onset is not available). Gender   Percent Male 198 47.0% Female 223 53.0% The Age group is reported as a percentage of the total instead of the actual number.  Age - Years Percent 0 -19 4.8% 20 - 29 15.9%…

(May 20, 2020 10:16 AM) Last weekend, as weather improved and stay-at-home orders relaxed, the Mackinac Bridge saw an uptick in traffic and delays - and some impatience from customers. As on a typical weekend, northbound traffic was particularly heavy on Friday between 2 and 6 p.m., along with heavy southbound traffic Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., while the Mackinac Bridge Authority's (MBA) temporary restriction on cash transaction slowed toll payments, resulting in some traffic backups. "To help slow the spread of COVID-19, we stopped taking cash payments in mid-March. While credit cards take only a few seconds longer to process, that delay adds up during traffic peaks," said MBA Executive Secretary Kim Nowack. "This change helps keep customers and our staff safe, and we ask that customers be patient and kind to our employees who are just trying to do their jobs during this stressful time" Customers might also consider crossing the bridge at other times to avoid peak traffic. Traffic is expected to increase this weekend as well, particularly on Memorial Day for southbound traffic. Until further notice, Mackinac Bridge customers will need to pay with a credit or debit card, or use a MacPass card…