As of 11 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 5, Calhoun County has a cumulative total of 1,446 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported to Calhoun County Public Health Department (CCPHD), with a total of 48 deaths attributed to the virus. This information is updated once daily, Monday through Friday, at www.calhouncountymi.gov.
The Michigan Safe Start Map Dashboard (mistartmap.info) is an easy place to see the State’s and Calhoun County's 7-day average rates of those testing positive for COVID-19. As of 11 a.m. today, the dashboard is reporting data up to Sept. 30, and Calhoun County’s is significantly high at 5.4%. The state's percent positivity rate is 3.4%. Calhoun County is also continuing to see a significant surge in the number of positive cases, compared to our region and the state overall.
Recent positive cases in Calhoun have three sources: Outbreaks primarily related to large group events and family gatherings; household contacts when more than one case is apparent in a home setting; and general community spread, which is when the virus's source is unknown.
It is crucial for Calhoun County residents to take CDC and state public health guidance seriously. The Joint Operations Center urges all Calhoun County residents to avoid gatherings especially when social distancing is not possible, and to follow CDC guidelines to help stop the recent surge of the virus in our community.
The CDC recommends:
- Wearing a face mask
- Washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
- Staying home when you are sick
- Practicing social distancing
- Cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces daily
The Calhoun County Joint Operations Center leadership is closely monitoring information from the State of Michigan about what to expect from the recent decision by the Supreme Court regarding Gov. Whitmer's emergency authority and how it will impact provisions of the hundreds of Executive Orders.
However, the July 29 public health order from Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon still stands, and remains in effect until it is lifted. In it, Gordon orders that all people follow rules, procedures, and restrictions that keep us safe during an epidemic. Those include:
- Wear a mask over your nose and mouth when you leave your home, while in any indoor public space, or outdoors when you can’t maintain six feet of distance from people who don’t live with you; and when you wait for or ride on public transportation,
- Any business open to the public must require a face covering, as indicated above.
- Any work that can be performed remotely, must be performed remotely.
- Indoor gatherings must not exceed 10 people; outdoor gatherings must not exceed 100 people.
Because of the surge in our county in particular, at this time we are not making any changes to government operations—for example, the Battle Creek City Commission meeting on Oct. 6 still will take place virtually, with live streams on AccessVision and Facebook. It begins at 7 p.m., and the call-in public comment information is on the city’s website and Facebook page.
We encourage all residents to continue following the guidance mentioned above, for the health and safety of your household, and the entire community.
