St. Clair County hospitals are asking Michigan residents to follow Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order and to heed advice on how to respond to COVID-19.
Ken Cummings, president and CEO of Tri-Hospital EMS and a member of the Emergency Operation Center team in the county, told The Voice that if an individuals calls 911, hospitals are asking that they provide health symptoms as accurately as possible.
“When EMS arrives, you will be asked this again before staff enter your home. This is important in order to protect workers so they can take the necessary precautions and stay safe," Cummings told The Voice.
Dr. Annette Mercatante, medical health officer at the St. Clair County Health Department, said anyone who is sick should be staying home in isolation, regardless of whether they have COVID-19 or not.
“If you are well, and you know you’ve been exposed to someone who is sick, and they are not COVID-positive, assume that you have been exposed to COVID. Isolate or quarantine yourself," Mercatante told The Voice. "These are very simple rules that we want everyone to follow, and despite our inability to test every single person who’s ill, this shouldn’t really impact how we respond to this."
Local law enforcement is also encouraging residents to stay home to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
St. Clair County Sheriff's Office Capt. Mat King told The Voice, “Follow the governor’s executive order to stay in as much as possible. If you are out and come in contact with law enforcement officials, be aware you will be asked to share any health symptoms in order for officers to properly protect themselves from potential exposure.”
Mercatante encouraged everyone who gets sick to respond as if they have COVID-19. They should self-isolate to keep everyone they care about safe and healthy.
“Respond as though you may have COVID or you may have been exposed to it and treat your loved ones and your neighbors accordingly," Mercatante told The Voice. "We do this, and we can definitely slow this process down. The longer we wait, and the longer it takes for this virus to be transmitted, the more time we’ll all have to come up with other solutions and opportunities for your treatment.”
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