CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH MIKE SYNDER, PHDM
As previously reported, due to increasing COVID-19 cases in Delta and Menominee Counties, Public Health, Delta & Menominee Counties (PHDM) is prioritizing case investigations and contact tracing efforts.
Since PHDM is focusing available resources on investigating school-aged children, long term care and other congregate living facilities, and outbreak settings, some people may not receive a timely call from PHDM or the State of Michigan.
To ensure these individuals receive appropriate isolation and quarantine instructions and to determine if cases work in high risk settings, PHDM is now utilizing the Michigan Health Alert Network to notify COVID-19 cases.
The Michigan Health Alert Network can handle making multiple telephone calls at the same time. The system will call your phone number every 10 minutes until you answer. Telephone calls from the Michigan Health Alert Network will always come from the telephone number (866) 998-3678.
Please program this number into your telephones so that you know you are receiving a message from the health department. The telephone call will contain information about how long you should isolate and what you need to tell your close contacts regarding the need to quarantine.
The alert will never contain personal health information about individuals.It is very important that you listen to the entire message and use your telephone keypad to select the appropriate response to acknowledge receipt of the call. Use of this software will save considerable staff time and allow PHDM to distribute information in a timelier fashion. PHDM appreciates your patience with this process.
To help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Delta and Menominee Counties:
Individuals notified that they are positive or probable COVID-19 should do the following:
- Isolate for 10 days from the onset of symptoms or 10 days from the day a positive test
sample was collected if you don’t have symptoms. After 10 days, if your symptoms have improved (note: symptoms do not need to be fully resolved, but overall improvement is required), and you are fever-free without the use of medications, you may resume normal activities. If you are still feeling sick, please consult with a medical professional as some people can be contagious for a longer period.
- Please do your best to isolate away from the other members in your household to prevent them from contracting the virus.
- Notify your employer or school that you have COVID-19.
- Notify all of your close contacts and ask that they quarantine for 14 days: a close contact includes those that have been within 6 feet of you for more than a total of 15 minutes any day you were contagious (which is two days before symptoms begin or 2 days prior to a positive test if you are asymptomatic).
If you are a Close Contact you should do the following:
- Quarantine for 14 days from your last contact to the COVID-19 case. If you develop symptoms you should get tested and isolate away from other household members.
- Please notify your employer or school that you are a close contact and need to quarantine.
- If you are a close contact and considered an essential worker, please work with your employer to determine your return to work procedure.
- Please note receiving a negative COVID-19 test as a close contact does NOT mean that you will not develop symptoms or test positive at a future time within your quarantine period. You
need to complete the full 14-day quarantine period even if you do not develop symptoms.
- If you are a household contact and you have been unable to isolate, you should start
your 14-day quarantine from the last day of close contact with the positive person during their infectious period. A person who has tested positive for COVID-19 is considered contagious for 10 days. This means you will quarantine for the 10 days you are exposed to the case plus 14 days after they are no longer considered infectious – 24 total days in quarantine.
Due to the inability to complete full investigations and identify close contacts, we will no longer have record of all close contacts and may not be able to issue work letter to employers.
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