COLDWATER, MI. – (WTVB) – The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency and the Michigan Department of Corrections reported on Friday afternoon that four Lakeland Correctional Facility prisoners have tested positive for COVID-19. No other coronavirus cases have been reported yet in Branch County.
The D.O.C. says there are 24 prisoners in Michigan who have COVID-19 including ten at Parnell Correction Facility in Jackson.
Meanwhile, the C.H.A. also reported on Friday that there were now six positive cases in Hillsdale while there were still no positive cases yet in Saint Joseph County.
The Community Health Agency will no longer report pending cases or the number of individuals tested due to the unknown number of individuals being tested by private labs.
The Calhoun County Health Department reports as of 12:00 noon Friday, there have been nine positive tests for COVID-19 out of 146 tests. That’s an increase of one positive test from Thursday. 46 tests have been negative. Results from 91 tests are still pending.
The total number of cases in the State of Michigan as of 3:00 p.m. Friday afternoon was 3,657 with 92 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
The C.H.A. is asking anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 to self-isolate for 14 days to avoid potentially exposing others. Individuals who have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19 should self-quarantine for 14 days and monitor themselves for fever, cough and shortness of breath. COVID-19 symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure to the virus. The symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath.
More information on the coronavirus pandemic can be found at www.bhsj.org.
Meanwhile, Branch County Emergency Manager Tim Miner warns that if all residents do not take the current situation seriously and follow the guidelines now, “we will be confronted with an event that will put the health of many community members at risk.” He went on to say, “our emergency plans are built with social compliance factors, assuming most people will do things for the greater good. Consider your inconveniences, now consider what we are asking our first responders, healthcare and essential workers to do in this event.”
