COVID-19 has changed many aspects of life. It may even seem like a never-ending battle. With all the prevalent uncertainty surrounding the virus, keeping up to date on facts is certainly the best way to navigate. Here is where NMU stands locally, as well as on a global perspective.
As of Tuesday, Sept. 8 NMU reported 37 positive cases of the 7,685 tests performed. This number includes on-campus residents, off-campus students, and NMU employees. This number does not include students or staff who work or attend remotely, according to NMU’s Safe on Campus dashboard. That’s .63% percent of the total NMU population.
On that note, of the .63% of students testing positive, only .12% of the NMU population is actively positive.
As far as quarantine environments are concerned, NMU is well equipped. Only three of the 150 available beds are currently filled. Isolation in Spaulding Hall creates a safe, separated environment for the ill.
On a broader level, Michigan is currently home to 32,298 active cases. Worldometer, a conglomerate dashboard source that pools from the WHO and CDC reported this. The number 32,298 was figured by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the total cases. Something to consider is a lot of places give the “grand total” of cases that occurred since the virus originated. This number is important, but can be confusing if one simply wanted to find the active case count.
Marquette County currently reports 80 active cases – with 11 deaths and 141 recoveries as of today. According to Michigan’s official government website, Marquette is in zone three. In terms of Gov. Whitmer’s six category MI Safe Start Plan, this is still not an ideal place to be. Zone three identifies as a place at medium to high risk. This means that case growth is declining, but there is still the potential for more if people are not careful.
For the U.P. to enter a post-pandemic state, or zone six, there would have to be a dramatic reduction of virus transmission. That stage is defined as “community spread not expected to return,” and “sufficient community immunity and availability of treatment.” This information is accredited to Gov. Whitmer’s MI Safe Start Plan.
