Emmet County has reported over a hundred new COVID-19 cases since Saturday and two deaths.
Most of the cases come from an outbreak at a nursing facility in Petoskey — Villa at the Bay — where more than 50 residents have tested positive, along with additional staff members.
The outbreak is a result of community spread, stresses Lisa Peacock of the Health Department of Northwest Michigan.
“Nobody is doing anything wrong [at the facility],” she says. “What happens when cases and positivity go up is that eventually the virus makes its way to the vulnerable.”
Some of these cases have resulted in hospitalizations, according to Peacock, as area hospitals treat more COVID patients than any time throughout the pandemic.
Twenty-two COVID patients have been admitted to McLaren Northern Michigan in Petoskey. About half are in critical care, according to a hospital representative.
“We all play a role in this,” says Peacock. She encourages everyone to wear a mask in public, avoid social gatherings, and keep their distance.
“These measures really do work in preventing transmission," she says. "That’s what needs to happen to slow this down.”
