While it’s easy to believe that the COVID pandemic is a thing of the past due to the release of the vaccinations and mask mandates being lifted around the world, we still have to remember that we now have to live in a world with the virus being apart of our everyday lives. Despite cases being low, there have been upticks in cases around the country that are making people wonder if the pandemic is as close to the end as it seems to be.
Over the past two years, the pandemic has had various impacts on the world, with some people being greatly affected by it with the loss of loved ones and friends, losing their jobs with businesses shutting down, or contracted it themselves spent weeks in quarantine. In contrast, others have been barely impacted by it and lived their lives with few interruptions. While it no doubt affected people physically, it also affected many mentally as well with the loss of physical interactions and connections with people. “Everyone has had a very different lived experience, and everyone’s place in which they feel comfortable in public or private settings varies. So I think the important part is that we are all respectful that everyone is at a different place.” Polk County Public Health Director Sarah Reese explained. Reese explained that when people go to an event or another’s home, they should ask questions to learn what others’ preferences are on wearing masks and spacing and talk about their different needs and comfort zones. Since people have different comfort zones in event settings, doing so can help everyone figure out where people are mentally in getting back to community and social interactions.
Public Health Director Sarah Reese reported that Polk County is currently in the Low Community Level Transmission. However, she warns that there have been upticks in COVID cases across the state, with the County being close to reaching Substantial Level Transmission. “We have some good indicators through a variety of different resources. However, it’s a little trickier when we look at it just from a case perspective. So yes, across the State, we are seeing a bit more of an uptick. The good thing is that the uptick doesn’t come close to the numbers we had in the past, but we need to remember that COVID is still around, so we need to be mindful and respectful of people’s wishes,” Public Health Director Sarah Reese explained. “I think there’s a lot of tools that we can use to prevent infection. Treatments are a valuable tool, so I’m excited that our medical providers and our health systems have access to treatment tools, but preventing the infection altogether is more effective in the long run from a population perspective than focusing on treating that infection. We have tools to prevent infection, which prevents transmission, which reduces COVID in our communities,” she added. To help the County stay in the Low Community, Director Reese relayed that the main thing people can do to help keep the cases from rising is to ensure that they’re not unintentionally spreading the virus or other germs and to take actions to ensure that if they believe they are sick. Such as when they’re at worksites or being aware in the community to be mindful of sick people and to get tested with one of the testing options available to them. Such as at-home test kits at stores, free test kits given out at the Polk County Public Health Departments in Crookston, McIntosh, and East Grand Forks, through healthcare providers, or through an online program provided by the State of Minnesota that people can use to request two test kits that can be mailed to them for free. For students and teachers at public schools, she best recommends staying home if they feel sick or have COVID symptoms. However, she recommends this for other significant diseases circulating in the spring, like influenza. She also explained that the CDC still recommends that people wear masks for effective forms of public transportation, such as on planes and busses, but also suggests that people check their airline carriers’ policies as they are constantly changing and being reviewed. Either by the airlines or by State court rulings and emerging research.
With these low levels across the state and most of the nation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared that the pandemic is starting to reach its “endemic.” While there have been surges in cases across the State and Nation, Director Reese wants to inform people that they, other healthcare providers, and the CDC are prepared for them. “The reality is that viruses have variants, and things are constantly changing in the form of mutations so that it can present different issues along the way. Director Reese explained that part of our work in healthcare and planning in response to an infectious disease emergency, be it COVID or something else, is to plan, practice, and be prepared,” Director Reese explained. “We learned a lot from the COVID response, so we are continuing to monitor the data and do what we can to watch for what could be potential surges in the number of cases and be ready if we need more bed availability or provide different health recommendations,” she added. Director Reese promises that Polk County Public Health will continue to monitor the County’s cases in various ways, such as positivity rates, hospitalization, or even by collaborating with the University of Minnesota to evaluate wastewater. She also revealed that Polk County Public Health had opened a COVID phone line that the public can call anytime from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays to answer any questions they may have about COVID, give any recommendations on what they can do if they believe they’ve been exposed to COVID or throwing a party or event, or even talk through situations. And any new information they learn, they plan to communicate their findings to the public through social media platforms and media platforms.
If you have any questions about COVID or need clarification on the vaccinations, boosters, recommendations, or anything else COVID-related, you can call their COVID phone line at 218-281-3385, Monday- Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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