Staff Writer
One Morrison County resident died and one other was hospitalized, during the week of March 11 – 17, due to COVID-19.
That death represented the fifth over the past three weeks among local residents, and the 104th since the start of the pandemic. The hospitalization was the first in two weeks, as the county sits at 445 total since April 2020.
Aside from those two statistics, Morrison County’s numbers continued to improve during the past week. The average number of new cases reported by Morrison County Public Health per day dropped to four, as there were 30 total counted between March 11 – 17. The county has reported 9,050 total cases since the start of the pandemic, 30 in the past week.
“I still think, talking to the schools last week, all of the schools it seems like — COVID, the flu, stomach viruses — are all in good shape as far as kids not missing school anymore,” said Morrison County Public Health Director Brad Vold. “We are no longer having our twice a month meeting with the schools. They’re feeling good about where they’re at. We can meet again, if necessary.”
There is still some concern, he said, about long-term care facilities. That said, only Harding Place has been listed on the Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) list of places with a known outbreak. March 11 – 17 marked the third straight week it has been listed.
Public Health Nursing Supervisor Cindy Nienaber said none of those particular cases, at this point, have required hospitalization.
“That’s the good news,” Nienaber said. “They probably have that Omicron variant that is milder in its symptoms.”
Overall, Morrison County’s 14-day case rate was down to 28, as of Thursday. That is down from 49, March 10.
Of those cases, there were 11 reported among residents with both Pierz and Little Falls ZIP codes, according to Morrison County Public Health.
In terms of vaccinations, MDH reported, as of Tuesday, 16,508 people in Morrison County had received at least one dose. That represents 49.9% of the county’s total population, and 53% of those age 5 and older. The number of those who are considered fully vaccinated sat at 15,644.
Following a brief update from Vold and Nienaber to the Morrison County Board of Commissioners, Tuesday, Chair Greg Blaine asked if they had any idea when everything could return to how it was prior to the pandemic. Particularly, he was referring to the fact people within Morrison County Public Health are still meeting clients and doing some of their work remotely.
“Where does the door slam shut on this where we totally get back to normal?” Blaine said. “Where there is no pandemic reasoning for not participating in our work the way we did prior to the pandemic?”
Nienaber said, for programs such as WIC, they have to wait for a directive from the federal government indicating the pandemic emergency has ended. At that point, there would be a 60-day waiting period so programs have a chance to adjust.
She said waiver programs for residents over 65 are in the same boat.
“That being said, if a client and a staff person are comfortable and they want to meet face to face, they can,” Nienaber said. “We’re not prohibited from doing that. But we are prohibited from forcing that upon someone; from saying, ‘I have to come see you face to face.’”
Vold said the federal pandemic emergency is currently in effect until mid-April. Once that is ended, he believes everyone will get a much better look of what “normal” is going to look like moving forward.
“We are hoping that they’ll lift it,” Nienaber said.
“Where does the door slam shut on this where we totally get back to normal?” – Greg Blaine, Morrison County Board of Commissioners chair
Staff Writer
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