[Michlib-l] COVID and Respiratory Illnesses increasing in MI

Wed Jan 24 15:42:14 EST 2024

FYI –
MDHHS has Community Based Pop-Up Rapid Antigen Testing Events: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/resources/k-12-school-opening-guidance/resources/2-row-resources/community-based-pop-up-rapid-antigen-testing-events

If an organization is interested in hosting a testing pop up event, please reach out to MDHHS-COVIDTESTINGSUPPORT at michigan.gov<mailto:MDHHS-COVIDTESTINGSUPPORT at michigan.gov> for further information.

Cathy Lancaster
Youth Services Coordinator
Library of Michigan
702 W. Kalamazoo St.
Lansing, MI 48915
My Pronouns: She/Her/Hers - See www.mypronouns.org<http://www.mypronouns.org/> to learn more.
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From: Michlib-l <michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org> On Behalf Of Membiela, Clare (MDE) via Michlib-l
Sent: Thursday, January 4, 2024 1:46 PM
To: Mary Gallup <director at clinton.lib.mi.us>
Cc: Rachel Smith (Roseville Public Library) <rsmith at roseville-mi.gov>; michlib-l at mcls.org
Subject: Re: [Michlib-l] COVID and Respiratory Illnesses increasing in MI

CAUTION: This is an External email. Please send suspicious emails to abuse at michigan.gov<mailto:abuse at michigan.gov>

I will find out!

However, you could encourage patrons to obtain free tests and information on free testing at
https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/testing/index.html

People can obtain up to 8 free tests.

Thanks!
Clare

Clare D. Membiela, MLS, J.D.
Library Law Consultant
Library of Michigan
MembielaC at michigan.gov<mailto:MembielaC at michigan.gov>
517-335-8132

The research and resources above are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.
“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation,it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion….” West Va. Bd. Of Ed. V. Barnette, 319 U.S., at 642.

The Michigan School Meals program allows for all public school students, grades Pre-K to 12, to eat breakfast and lunch for free. Learn more<https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/food/michigan-school-meals>.
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From: Mary Gallup <director at clinton.lib.mi.us<mailto:director at clinton.lib.mi.us>>
Sent: Thursday, January 4, 2024 1:43 PM
To: Membiela, Clare (MDE) <MembielaC at michigan.gov<mailto:MembielaC at michigan.gov>>
Cc: Rachel Smith (Roseville Public Library) <rsmith at roseville-mi.gov<mailto:rsmith at roseville-mi.gov>>; michlib-l at mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l at mcls.org>
Subject: Re: [Michlib-l] COVID and Respiratory Illnesses increasing in MI

CAUTION: This is an External email. Please send suspicious emails to abuse at michigan.gov<mailto:abuse at michigan.gov>

We are starting to run low on our Covid test kits that were sent to us in the fall. Does anyone know if the state is planning on sending out more?

Mary Gallup
Director
Clinton Township Public Library
100 Brown St. Clinton MI 49236

On Thu, Jan 4, 2024 at 1:40 PM Membiela, Clare (MDE) via Michlib-l <michlib-l at mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l at mcls.org>> wrote:
Thanks Rachel! 😊
Clare

Clare D. Membiela, MLS, J.D.
Library Law Consultant
Library of Michigan
MembielaC at michigan.gov<mailto:MembielaC at michigan.gov>
517-335-8132

The research and resources above are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.
“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation,it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion….” West Va. Bd. Of Ed. V. Barnette, 319 U.S., at 642.

The Michigan School Meals program allows for all public school students, grades Pre-K to 12, to eat breakfast and lunch for free. Learn more<https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/food/michigan-school-meals>.
[cid:image004.jpg at 01DA4EDB.E5AA0460]

From: Rachel Smith (Roseville Public Library) <rsmith at roseville-mi.gov<mailto:rsmith at roseville-mi.gov>>
Sent: Thursday, January 4, 2024 1:35 PM
To: michlib-l at mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l at mcls.org>; Membiela, Clare (MDE) <MembielaC at michigan.gov<mailto:MembielaC at michigan.gov>>
Subject: Re: COVID and Respiratory Illnesses increasing in MI

CAUTION: This is an External email. Please send suspicious emails to abuse at michigan.gov<mailto:abuse at michigan.gov>

In terms of COVID levels and risk assessment, the CDC's Wastewater Surveillance Monitoring website (link further down) will give you a more accurate look at COVID levels in the Nation, Region, & State. The CDC Respirator Illnesses page that Clare just shared uses hospital admissions as its metric for COVID levels, whereas Wastewater Surveillance is actively testing all wastewater that comes through the treatment sites. It is a more accurate look at all currently active COVID cases (even if they don't show symptoms, haven't tested themselves for COVID, or have not gone to the hospital for symptoms - remember that asymptomatic cases account for almost half of all infections).

Using this metric, the entire country is Very High (also keeping in mind we do not have post-holiday numbers yet).

The CDC recently updated and re-released Wastewater Tracking Data for COVID-19 cases. This is considered the most effective way to trace levels of COVID within communities, as it is not dependent on people having access to and taking PCR tests and it can detect asymptomatic & pre-symptomatic COVID cases.
Wastewater data can provide:

  *   A community-level perspective on what diseases are circulating locally
  *   An early warning that levels of infections are increasing or decreasing in a community
  *   An efficient, easy approach that doesn’t require visiting a doctor or getting tested for an infectious disease
  *   Data for communities where patients aren’t always able to get tested for infectious diseases.

State and local health officials track a variety of data and put this information together to understand the local situation and decide how to best respond to prevent disease spread. Public health officials watch for sustained increasing levels of specific viruses or bacteria in wastewater and use these data to alert clinicians, hospitals, and the community so that they can quickly take appropriate action to safeguard people’s health.

CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) collects, analyses, and shares data on multiple viruses and bacteria in wastewater, including SARS-CoV-2 and mpox. NWSS updates the data weekly and makes data available on wastewater data dashboards.
This data can allow people to make the most informed decisions about infection risks.

Here's how to read the numbers in the data chart:
About the Wastewater Viral Activity Level: The Wastewater Viral Activity Level is a calculated measure that allows us to aggregate wastewater sample data to get state/territorial, regional, and national levels and see trends over time. Most simply, the value associated with the Wastewater Viral Activity Level is the number of standard deviations above the baseline, transformed to the linear scale. The current Wastewater Viral Activity Level for each state and territory is categorized into minimal, low, moderate, high, or very high as follows: a Wastewater Viral Activity Level less than 1.5 is categorized as minimal, greater than 1.5 and up to 3 is low, greater than 3 and up to 4.5 is moderate, greater than 4.5 and up to 8 is high, and greater than 8 is very high.
Easy Reference:
<1.5 - Minimal
1.5-3 - Low
3-4.5 - Moderate
4.5-8 - High
>8 - Very High

Nationwide, we are currently at 11 - Very High. Which is the highest it has been since January 2023.
https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-nationaltrend.html

In Michigan, we are currently at 12 - Very High. Which is the highest it has been since almost exactly a year ago, December 2022.
https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-statetrend.html#print (Select Michigan in the dropdown menu)

The Iowa COVID-19 Tracker is also a great COVID tracking site, which pulls from CDC's wastewater data and a few other sources: https://iowacovid19tracker.org/

The current predictions are that nationwide, we will hit 2 million daily cases by next week (Jan 7-13, 2024), for a total of about 100 million COVID cases (or 1 in every 3 people will be infected) throughout this wave. We have not seen this level of widespread infection since the first Omicron wave.

Be safe everyone!

Best,
Rachel

__________________________

Rachel Smith

Adult Services Librarian/Archivist

Roseville Public Library

My Pronouns: She/Her/Hers - See www.mypronouns.org<http://www.mypronouns.org/> to learn more.

My working day may not be your working day. Please do not feel obligated to reply to this email outside of your normal working hours.

Archives Office Hours by Appointment Only (Please call/email in advance)

http://rosevillelibrary.org/wordpress/library-archives/

29777 Gratiot Avenue

Roseville, MI  48066

586-447-4560 (Archives)

586-445-5407 (Library General Information)

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________________________________
From: Michlib-l <michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org>> on behalf of Membiela, Clare (MDE) via Michlib-l <michlib-l at mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l at mcls.org>>
Sent: Thursday, January 4, 2024 12:05 PM
To: michlib-l at mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l at mcls.org> <michlib-l at mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l at mcls.org>>
Subject: [Michlib-l] COVID and Respiratory Illnesses increasing in MI

Hello and Happy New Year!

Just a reminder that Respiratory illnesses are on the rise, including COVID, FLU and RSV.

Many counties in MI are now at moderate levels of infection from one or more of these viruses.

Libraries are encouraged to review their county’s status and other resources available for identifying and mitigating these illnesses at https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/index.html

Take care and be well!

Clare

Clare D. Membiela, MLS, J.D.

Library Law Consultant

Library of Michigan

MembielaC at michigan.gov<mailto:MembielaC at michigan.gov>

517-335-8132

The research and resources above are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.

“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation,it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion….” West Va. Bd. Of Ed. V. Barnette, 319 U.S., at 642.

The Michigan School Meals program allows for all public school students, grades Pre-K to 12, to eat breakfast and lunch for free. Learn more<https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/food/michigan-school-meals>.

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