COVID-19 transmission in Berrien County remains high with a percent positivity of 15.6% and hospitalizations up in recent weeks. During a Wednesday COVID update, Spectrum Health Lakeland and the Berrien County Health Department urged continued caution and vaccination. Berrien County Health Department Medical Director Rex Cabaltica said the county has averaged 58 cases per day over the past seven days, an increase of eight per day over last week. The greatest increase has been among those ages zero to eleven. How are schools doing?
“Currently in the schools, there are 96 staff from schools and students in isolation, and 580 total in quarantine,” Cabaltica said. “Those are those who have been exposed or in close contact with it, but not necessarily positive at this point.”
Spectrum Health Lakeland CEO Loren Hamel said the hospital in St. Joseph is busy right when it had hoped occupancy would go down.
“Of course, we’ve seen an increase, not a decrease,” Hamel said. “The current census is at 38. We still have significant COVID going on at our ICUs, folks on ventilators. We’re still seeing an inpatient mortality that’s running about 10%.”
Hamel noted Spectrum hospitals in Grand Rapids are more crowded. Both urged everyone to continue wearing masks and to frequently wash their hands. For the holidays, Cabaltica suggested holding celebrations in areas with good ventilation. Hamel noted some people who got their vaccines several months ago are starting to appear with COVID, although with mild symptoms.
