Gratiot COVID cases jump by 15 in one day

Cases of COVID-19 jumped in Gratiot County by 15 in one day, increasing from 238 Monday to 253 Tuesday.

There was no explanation immediately available for the spike. No additional cases were announced in long-termcare facilities on the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 website.

An email was sent seeking information to MMDHD, which oversees Gratiot County, but it wasn’t responded to by press time.

There are currently two outbreaks at schools — Alma College and Luce Road Early Childhood Learning Center — but both of those appear to be in the process of being contained.

The Luce Road ECLC outbreak was discussed during a meeting of the Mid-michigan District Health Department’s board of health, reported the Greenville Daily News Tuesday.

“We had an elementary school (Luce Road Elementary School in Gratiot County) where there is a provision in the state guidance that strongly recommends face coverings for K through 5 students if they’re staying with their class at all times andwe did have a large outbreak in that elementary school where they had left it up to their teachers regarding face covering use and there was not good face covering use at all, even among some of the teachers,” the Daily News quoted MMDHD Medical Director Jennifer Morse as saying. “Since that outbreak, they (the state of Michigan) have now required face covering use among everybody, even the students. We recommend that everybody be wearing masks regardless of what the rules are.”

Gratiot County’s 40,000-person population is the smallest of the three counties covered by MMDHD. The other two are Montcalm County, with approximately 64,000 people; and Clinton County, with approximately 79,000 people.

Of the three it also has the fewest overall cases of COVID-19. As of Tuesday, Montcalm had 312 and Clinton had 609. But of the three, it has has the most deaths with 15, compared to 14 in Clinton and six inmontcalm.

Gratiot County an outlier on a day where Isabella County saw only two additional cases, increasing from631 to 633, with 14 deaths. Clare County increased from 103 Monday to 104, with four deaths.

Mecosta County had an additional six cases, increasing from202 to 208, with three deaths. Midland County had three additional cases, increasing from 514 to 517, with 11 deaths. Gladwin County increased by one case, from 89 to 90. Two people have died there.

Statewide, an additional 898 cases were announced for a cumulative total of 123,633, and an additional 20 deaths for a total of 6,751. Four of those deaths came during a review of death records.