SALINE, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Washtenaw County Health Department said it has seen a major uptick in COVID-19 cases related to a large house party around the Fourth of July in the Saline area.
According to the health department, there have been 43 cases of COVID-19 and 66 exposed close contacts, not including family members in the immediate household of cases. A close contact is anyone who had face-to-face contact with an identified case for 15 minutes or more.
Anyone who attended the initial event or knows they were exposed should self-quarantine and monitor themselves for 14 days.
The majority of new cases are among young people between the ages of 15-25 years old.
“This is a very clear example of how quickly this virus spreads and how many people can be impacted in a very short amount of time” says Jimena Loveluck, MSW, Health Officer with Washtenaw County Health Department. “We cannot hope to accomplish our goal of containing COVID-19 and preventing additional cases, hospitalizations and deaths without full community support and cooperation.”
“We need people of all ages, including young people, to take COVID-19 seriously and follow public health guidelines and instructions. That means avoiding large gatherings without physical distancing or face coverings. It also means cooperating with the Health Department to complete case investigation and contact tracing,” continues Loveluck.
The health department is working to reach out to every person identified as close contact to provide guidance.
If you have not returned a call from the Health Department or followed guidance to isolate or self-quarantine, please reconsider and help contain this growing cluster of cases.
“None of us wants to be the reason someone in our community or county becomes seriously ill or dies,” says Brian D. Marl, Mayor of the City of Saline. “We have the opportunity to work together and with our local health department to contain this as quickly as possible. We know what we need to do, and we can certainly do it.”
This is the latest cluster of cases related to either bars or parties in Michigan.
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
Click here for a page with resources including a COVID-19 overview from the CDC, details on cases in Michigan, a timeline of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's orders since the outbreak, coronavirus' impact on Southeast Michigan, and links to more information from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC and the WHO.
View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.
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