Western UP Health Dept. announces change in reporting COVID-19 Testing Statistics

HANCOCK -- The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) announces that it will discontinue the current reporting format for COVID-19 testing numbers in the five-county jurisdiction. WUPHD currently reports out based upon information entered into the Michigan Disease Surveillance System or MDSS.

"As community testing has increased, the current reporting system is no longer an accurate representation of the total testing being conducted in the area," said Kate Beer, Health Officer at WUPHD. "Testing is now done by numerous entities using different reporting platforms. Individuals may be tested multiple times and at different locations. We need to change our reporting to what makes sense for monitoring the virus in our population."

Beginning this week, the WUPHD will utilize the State of Michigan’s MI Safe Start Map, found at www.mistartmap.info, as their primary reporting system for testing statistics.

"We will continue to report out individual county level positives, recoveries, and any deaths as they occur and as a weekly summary each Thursday," said Beer.

There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19. The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure. People with these symptoms or combinations of symptoms may have COVID-19:
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fever
• Chills
• Repeated shaking with chills
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Sore throat
• New loss of taste or smell
People should seek immediate medical attention if they have trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, or bluish lips or face.

WUPHD is working to coordinate their response with community partners. Updates are available at
www.wuphd.org. There is a State informational hotline available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT seven
days per week. That number is 1-888-535-6136. Additional information on COVID-19 can be found on
the MDHHS website or the CDC website.

Western UP Health Department reports COVID-19 testing totals for Apr. 10

HANCOCK -- The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) COVID-19 testing report of Friday, Apr. 10, 2020, shows an additional positive case in Gogebic County, bringing the Gogebic total to 4 positives, including one death. Houghton County testing continues to show one positive result, with zero positive tests for the other three counties -- Baraga, Keweenaw and Ontonagon.

WUPHD reports these totals for Apr. 10:

Referred for Testing: Baraga 29, Gogebic 73, Houghton 122, Keweenaw 12, Ontonagon 18, with a total of 254 for the 5 counties.

Tests Canceled*: Baraga 1, Gogebic 2, Houghton 11, Keweenaw 2, Ontonagon 2 -- a 5-county total of 18.

Positives: Baraga 0, Gogebic 4, Houghton 1, Keweenaw 0, Ontonagon 0 -- total of 5 for the counties.

Negatives: Baraga 21, Gogebic 55, Houghton 96, Keweenaw 8, Ontonagon 13 -- a 5-county total of 193.

Tests pending: Baraga 7, Gogebic 12, Houghton 14, Keweenaw 2, Ontonagon 3 -- total 38.

Deaths**: 1 death, Gogebic County.

* Canceled tests are those tests that a healthcare provider decided not to submit after other diagnostic procedures confirmed a different illness or a clinical decision was made to not test after a referral was already assigned to the system. Most canceled tests were done early on in the process. The process has improved and additional guidance is now available to all healthcare providers.

**Deaths are also included in the number of positive tests (they are not additional positives).