County Board Hears COVID Update

berriencountyadmin1-28
berriencountyadmin1-28

The latest COVID-19 update has been delivered to the Berrien County Board of Commissioners. During Thursday’s meeting, Berrien County Administrator Brian Dissette told the board he spoke with Berrien County Health Officer Nicki Britten this week, and she filled him in on the latest statistics. The number of new cases in Berrien County is increasing with the two week rolling average for new daily cases rising from four on July 1 to nine on July 14. Hospitalizations are slightly up.

“Increases in hospitalization trends tend to lag one to two weeks behind increases in cases due to the nature of the disease’s progression,” Dissette said.

Dissette related that a key number the health department tracks is also moving.

“The percentage of COVID-19 yielding positive results has increased slightly, but remains under 4%.”

Dissette said local hospitals have plenty of capacity. There were also some new cases identified in the last ten days in a nursing home, and the health department is working with the staff at that facility.