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Hospitals maintain readiness for increase of local COVID cases

HANCOCK — Local hospitals are maintaining readiness for COVID-19 cases in the event of more cases as the Upper Peninsula begins to reopen.

“While we are unable to predict the impact of the upcoming tourism season and the reopening of our communities, we are always prepared to identify, respond to, and treat patients with upper respiratory illnesses like COVID-19,” UP Health System — Portage said in a statement. “We will continue to be diligent in our preparations for a potential surge of COVID-19 patients, building upon the robust emergency operations plan we have in place and train for year-round.”

On May 22, the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan became the first regions in the state to advance to phase four of the state’s six-phase return to normal operations. Restaurants, bars and retail were allowed to reopen with limited capacity. Monday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ended the stay-at-home order statewide, bringing the entire state in line with the U.P. and northern Michigan. Those two regions could move to phase five as soon this week depending on the numbers, Whitmer said. 

When the previous restrictions were announced, Whitmer cautioned residents from other areas to think hard before making a trip up north, and to buy groceries beforehand to minimize contact with residents. Too many people could cause COVID-19 numbers to spike, potentially overwhelming local hospitals, she said. 

In the days since reopening, there have been four new cases in Houghton County involving county residents, and two involving people visiting from outside the area. It was unknown if the people had contracted the virus prior to the loosening of the restrictions. 

Symptoms typically appear two to 14 days after a person is exposed to the virus.

In May, hospitals were also allowed to resume elective procedures. At Portage, the team conducts daily “go/no-go” meetings to make sure it can care both for people undergoing elective and non-urgent procedures, emergency care patients and potential COVID-19 patients. At those meetings, they review crucial supplies such as personal protective equipment (PPE), medications, blood, space and staffing.

“Out of an abundance of caution and with the conservation of supplies in mind, we are not starting with a full surgery schedule right away,” Portage said in a statement. “Should things continue to progress positively, we will increase our capacity on a week-by-week basis. Our patients’ safety is our top priority.”

As of Monday, 28 of 59 intensive care unit beds in the Upper Peninsula were unused, according to state data. Eighty-nine of 94 ventilators were available. 

Aspirus, Baraga County Memorial Hospital and UP Health all reported having enough N95 masks, surgical masks, surgical gowns, shields and gloves for 21-plus days — the highest tier of four in the state’s metrics. 

Portage said its preparations paid off when it came time to treat patients who had the virus. 

“Our teams did an excellent job identifying potential COVID-19 patients, followed the right protocols for isolation and PPE, and minimized the potential for additional exposures,” Portage said in the statement. “We are proud that our collective preparedness positioned us to do the right things at the right times. This was possible due to our amazing clinical teams here at UP Health System – Portage.”

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