Karen Newman
Clay County Public Health Director Kathy McKay provided an off-site report via conference call to the county commissioners at their October 27 meeting. Her report focused on rising numbers of Covid-19 cases across the Fargo-Moorhead area and included numbers from Cass County. McKay noted the cooperative efforts of the Red River Valley Covid-19 task force, “We know how many people cross the river for work and school and health care.”
Current Clay County Covid -19 data:
· 2328 confirmed Covid-19 cases to date
· 43 deaths due to Covid-19
· 391 active cases
· 31 new cases from the previous week
· 14-day case rate/10,000 people through October 26: 59.08
· 5.2% Minnesota positivity rate
Current Cass County data:
· 8794 confirmed Covid-19 cases to date
· 84 deaths due to Covid-19
· 1158 active cases
· 14-day case rate/10,000 people through October 12: 78.73
· 14-day case rate for October12-25: 124.51
· 8.28% North Dakota positivity rate
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Current Minnesota data:
· 135,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases to date
· 2353 deaths due to Covid-19
· Active cases rose from 82,900 to 83,851 on the fourth weekend of October
· October 26 marked the 19th consecutive day of over 1000 confirmed new daily positive cases
McKay emphasized that the 14-day case rate/10,000 people is one of several data points that schools use to determine their plans, “It is not the only factor that determines a learning model.”
McKay lauded the Minnesota and North Dakota governors’ offices for their agreement to permit North Dakota citizens to utilize the Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) semi-permanent saliva testing site located at the former Thomas Edison School. McKay said this cooperative effort was launched as a reciprocal service for the more than 12,000 tests provided at no charge by North Dakota when Clay County had no local testing available as the pandemic began. According to the most recent data available to the public health department, 3101 people have used the saliva testing site to date. The weekend of October 25-26 saw 516 Minnesota residents and 503 North Dakota residents tested there. 15.4% is the positivity rate for the site to date.
The purpose of public testing sites is to find asymptomatic people who are not displaying symptoms, but are passing the virus to others. McKay noted that medical facilities are only able to test those exhibiting symptoms. According to MDH information, every individual with Covid-19 has the potential to infect three others. A ‘super-spreader’ from another area in Minnesota infected 40 people according to MDH. Rising case numbers are mainly attributed to large social gatherings, not to school and work settings.
Providing a spot for homeless people to quarantine means that a local hotel is being utilized for that purpose. The county’s public health department works closely with the Red River Valley Covid Task Force to provide isolation services. Currently 13 people are using the facility.
McKay cautioned the county board, “We are really looking at a long, dark winter, as projected. Hospitals are in danger of being overwhelmed.” She urged the public to wear masks, avoid large gatherings, socially distance and to continue hand-washing and sanitation frequently.