Monthly Archives: May 2020

(May 5, 2020 11:56 AM) The Jackson County Health Department released the COVID-19 positive numbers for Jackson County.  As of 11:56 AM today, there are 368 positive cases (cumulative), and 24 deaths (cumulative)*.  There was no increase in cases or deaths since yesterday’s report. The Michigan Department of Corrections is reporting as of 8:30 PM Monday, there are  934  confirmed positive cases are at Jackson facilities, 125 Confirmed Positive Jackson Staff. As of 6 AM on Monday, May 4, there are 37 individuals with positive COVID-19 results who are inpatients at Henry Ford Allegiance Health. To date, a total of 100 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 “MDOC” for the Michigan Statistics. Gender Number Percent Male 170 46.2% Female 198 53.8% The Age group is reported as a percentage of the total instead of the actual number.  Age - Years Percent 0 -19 3.5% 20 - 29 14.4% 30 - 39 13.3% 40 - 49 20.7% 50 - 59 17.9% 60 - 69 17.1% 70 -79 6.3% 80 6.8% Race and Ethnicity tables were added on…

(May 5, 2020 10:34 AM) Close to 90,000 low-income college students in Michigan who are enrolled in career or technical education programs are eligible to receive food assistance benefits through a new State of Michigan initiative effective this week. The Michigan departments of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) announced the change to combat rising food insecurity among students, exacerbated by COVID-19. “Hunger was a problem for students before COVID-19, and it is a far greater challenge today,” said MDHHS Director Robert Gordon. “Because of this policy change, thousands of students will no longer need to choose between dropping out of school and getting critical food aid. The change will help Michigan students put food on the table in today’s crisis, it will help Michigan be more competitive economically as the economy recovers.” Until now, college students enrolled in qualifying Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs who attended school at least half-time could not qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), even if they met income eligibility requirements, unless they fell into certain categories such as working at least 20 hours per week, caring for a child, or being unable to work. Due to…

(May 5, 2020 10:23 AM) Faced with projected financial losses of up to $230 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, Michigan Medicine announced an economic recovery plan that strives to minimize impact on employees and ensures high standards of patient care.  Michigan Medicine anticipates losses to continue into fiscal year 2021. Like many health care organizations that had to suddenly cancel all elective procedures and temporarily suspend many services, Michigan Medicine has immediately begun to experience financial implications from caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. “While we are faced with continuing challenges as a result of this pandemic, we know that our collective effort will result in our successfully navigating this crisis and moving forward on a path of strength and sustainability,” said Marschall S. Runge, chief executive officer of Michigan Medicine, dean of the U-M Medical School and executive vice president for Medical Affairs at U-M. “Our economic recovery plan will help us continue to provide hope and healing to our patients and support our clinical, educational and research missions.” The plan includes organizational restructuring and a combination of furloughs and layoffs totaling approximately 1,400 full-time employees. This is in addition to a hiring freeze…

(May 5, 2020 7:42 AM) Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer released the following statement after Pfizer Inc. announced that the first participants have been dosed in the U.S. in a clinical trial for the BNT162 vaccine program to prevent COVID-19 infection. The company also announced that initial manufacturing for the COVID-19 vaccine will be conducted in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  “This is great news for our families, our neighbors, and those serving on the front lines during this crisis,” said Governor Whitmer. “COVID-19 has shown how vulnerable our country is when it comes to supply chain and much of the lifesaving materials we need are manufactured out of the country. That’s why we are so proud that one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the world is the Pfizer site right here in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In fact, Michigan has a strong history of vaccine development with the polio and anthrax vaccines. Pfizer is a great partner and the State of Michigan and our strong manufacturing roots stand ready to serve.”  Pfizer is making additional at-risk investment to actively scale up their manufacturing capacity and distribution infrastructure to bring a promising vaccine candidate to the world. The company’s clinical trial supply will be…

(May 5, 2020 6:28 AM) The Michigan Department of Corrections is reporting as of 8:30 PM Monday, there are 2,048 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases at facilities throughout the state.  Of that statewide total, 934 of the confirmed positive cases are at Jackson facilities. The Department says they have now started a system of expanded testing and began testing all prisoners at Cotton Correctional Facility last week.  The facility has a designated quarantine unit and positive prisoners are being transferred to the unit. Of 1802 prisoners tested at Cotton, 669 are COVID-19 confirmed positive.  37% of those tested are positive. There have been a total of 44 deaths of prisoners who had tested positive for COVID-19, 17 of those deaths were among prisoners at Jackson facilities. The most recent deaths, reported on May 4, were of a prisoner who had originally been housed at Lakeland Correctional Facility and a prisoner at G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility. On May 3, the department reported the death of a prisoner who had originally tested positive at Parnall Correctional Facility. In Jackson, there are 177 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases at Parnall Correctional Facility, 55 at Charles E. Egeler Reception and Guidance Center, 33 at Duane…

(May 4, 2020 8:17 PM)  Michigan reported 196* coronavirus (COVID-19) positive test cases today, with the state reported total now at 43,950. The State of Michigan is reporting 86* COVID-19-related deaths today, bringing the state total to 4,135. State Cumulative Total of Recovered COVID-19 Cases (as of 5/1/2020): 15,659.  This number is updated weekly. This information is usually updated daily at 3 p.m., with COVID-19 results included as of 10 a.m.  Today the update was posted at 7:50 PM. *Please note: These counts are representative of data in the Michigan Disease Surveillance System as of 4 p.m. on May 4, 2020. However, as the data backlog is still processing from a software issue, today’s numbers are not representative of the full data set since the May 3 report.   Confirmed COVID-19 Cases by Jurisdiction updated 5/4/2020 County Confirmed Cases Reported Deaths Alcona 4 1 Allegan 116 2 Alpena 83 7 Antrim 10   Arenac 28 1 Baraga 1   Barry 37 1 Bay 161 8 Benzie 4   Berrien 304 20 Branch 66 2 Calhoun 244 16 Cass 33 2 Charlevoix 13 1 Cheboygan 19 1 Chippewa 2   Clare 11 2 Clinton 119 10 Crawford 56 4 Delta 13 2 Detroit City…