Ottawa County's COVID-19 Response Updates - Friday, April 10, 2020

Ottawa County, Michigan sent this bulletin at 04/10/2020 07:47 PM EDT

Updates I Friday, April 10

Latest COVID-19 Videos - Public Health Updates I County Updates & Spanish
Media Contact: Kristina Wieghmink, OCDPH public information officer
kwieghmink@miottawa.org I mobile/text 616-510-8523

New Ottawa County Data Dashboard

It is with heartfelt condolences that we report Ottawa County's second death due to COVID-19. A male in his late seventies with underlying health conditions passed away today. His family and friends are in our thoughts during this difficult time!

Click the dashboard to expand.

Data are updated daily at miOttawa.org/miHealth.

Places of Worship Gatherings

Out of an abundance of caution, the Ottawa County Department of Public Health strongly recommends that churches do not hold drive-up services and that church members comply with the Governor's order to Stay Home and Stay Safe this Easter Sunday and while the ‘Temporary requirement to suspend activities that are not necessary to sustain or protect life’ executive order is in place.

With more than 60 positive COVID-19 cases in Ottawa County, there is evidence of community-wide spread of the virus. Every precaution must be taken to protect the health of our community. We understand this will be difficult for many people. Many factors need to be considered that could create situations for personal contact such as traffic accidents, personal medical emergencies and people who may decide not to stay in their vehicles. Because we care, we ask that churches continue to find innovative technologies to serve their members. Thank you for your understanding and for helping to contain COVID-19.

These phone scams are also claiming to have COVID-19 treatments.

Important Reminders

Drinking and driving has been an increasing issue. If you are consuming alcohol, please stay home and do NOT drive.
Pedestrian traffic has increased and please watch out for people when driving.
Playgrounds at schools, parks and other facilities are closed. Playground surfaces are not regularly sanitized nor do they allow for physical distancing. Please avoid these areas to help control the spread of the coronavirus.
Do your part to keep our parks safe and open!
- If the park you normally visit is busy (lot more than half full), please considering visiting another location - you can find our full list of properties here
- Only visit parks on your own or with members of your household
  Stay 6-10’ from others who are not in your household, on trails and in parking lots
- Do not congregate
- Wash your hands before and after your visit (hard surfaces are not disinfected)
- Restrooms and park facilities are closed through April 30
- Pack out what you pack in
IF you need to go out for essential services (e.g., food or prescriptions);
- limit the number of people going,
- wear a cloth face covering,
- keep at least six feet from another,
- thoroughly wash your hands upon your return home,
- and clean and disinfect surfaces.
  LEARN MORE
Stay Home - Stay Safe Executive Order has extended and expanded (issued April, 10, 2020: EO 2020-42) through April 30, 2020. Read for more details here.

Click to hear how community leaders join together to address
Ottawa County's COVID-19 response - Share the Stimulus

CareOttawaCounty.com

A volunteer at Community Action House who is helping seniors with grocery delivery, Bob Roth, shares one of his stories.

At one of my deliveries today, no one answered the door so I called the phone number on my assignment sheet. She answered and was very grateful the food had been delivered. (The sheet~~that I shred every day after the deliveries~~said she has a walker and an oxygen tank but would have her son take the food inside.) So now having my cell phone number she texted this to me hours later:

This is _____ . You delivered food to my house I wanted to express my gratitude and how beautiful it is that people care enough about us to help. I don't know if you believe but you are definitely angels in our book thank you so much may all you guys be blessed the way you have blessed us."

#OttawaStaysHome

Whether you’re age 8, 18 or 88, we’re all feeling some grief right now by missing out on important school events, family gatherings, vacations we planned, loss of work, human connections and much more! High school senior, Sarah, is taking all of this in stride and still enjoying creating her high school memories. Check out her uplifting video on how she’s making the best of her situation. Thank you, Sarah, for inspiring us all during this difficult time! #OttawaStaysHome

Click the featured image to share.

Use the hashtag #OttawaStaysHome on all your social media platforms and tell us why you stay home and what you’re doing to occupy the time. The county will share its favorite posts, images and videos. Be creative! Visit Facebook.com/OttawaCounty.

Ottawa County Board of Commissioners Meeting

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners will meet on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. in the main conference room at the Fillmore Administration Building located at 12220 Fillmore Street in West Olive. Additional access to the meeting is being provided to the public, at that time, through the internet by using the following link: https://zoom.us/join and by entering the following meeting identification number: 172-097-509. Additional public participation in the meeting can occur through the submission of e-mail comments to publiccomment@miottawa.org. The Ottawa County Clerk will present the communications to the Commissioners during the public comment sections of the meeting.

Foreclosure Intervention Workshop

An informative session designed to help homeowners
facing financial hardship navigate resources

Our Financial Wellness team will host a workshop later this month for anyone who may be facing financial hardship, including those that are having difficulty making mortgage payments or are at risk of losing their home.

Topics covered will include COVID-19 Forbearance process, working with your mortgage company, the foreclosure process and home retention options. The information and resources will be presented by Community Action House HUD-certified Housing Counselors, at no cost to residents of Allegan or Ottawa Counties.

Questions are welcome during the session, and additional one-on-one counseling services can be scheduled for a later date to best fit each participant’s unique needs. Please click below to register, and contact our team with questions at education@communityactionhouse.org | 616.392.2368 ext. 107 (during business hours).

Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Time: 6pm-7:30pm
Location: This workshop will be presented through Zoom video conference
REGISTER HERE

Click for the state and local COVID-19 resource list.

English I Spanish

Self-Employed, Other Newly Eligible Workers Can Apply for Unemployment on Monday, $600 Federal Payments Also Begin

Michigan’s self-employed workers, gig workers, 1099-independent contractors and low-wage workers affected by COVID-19 can apply for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) beginning Monday, April 13 at 8AM. Under the federal CARES Act, workers on state unemployment have already begun receiving the set $600 federal weekly payment in addition to their state benefit amount. Michigan is one of the first states to begin sending the $600 payment.

New Resources to Help Unemployed Workers
Resolve Technical Issues with Their Accounts

To better serve Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) claimants experiencing MILogin and Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) technical difficulties when applying for benefits, the Dept. of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) has implemented new online tools to help users report and resolve technical issues. MILogin is the state’s single-sign-on portal to access state services, while MiWAM acts as the UIA’s system for filing your unemployment insurance claim and managing UIA accounts online.

Claimants who previously experienced technical problems that are not yet resolved are encouraged to go back into the system to report the issues to the technical team so that the issue will be expedited for resolution.

The fastest and easiest way to file an unemployment claim is online at Michigan.gov/UIA where the application process takes around 25 minutes. Between 90-95 percent of all claims are filed online.

Claimants experiencing MILogin and MiWAM issues will be able to submit their online technical support request to a member of the technical team, comprised of Department of Technology, Management and Budget and UIA staff. Within a week, it’s expected that the equivalent of around 100 full-time employees will be dedicated to this effort.

Michigan's Health Insurers Agree to Provide
Coronavirus Treatment at No Cost to Patients

The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) announced that the state has received agreements from nearly all of the state’s health insurance companies to waive cost-sharing, including copays, deductibles, and coinsurance for coronavirus (COVID-19) testing and treatments. The Whitmer Administration and DIFS had worked with insurers to waive these costs.

Consumers with these individual and group health plans will not be charged cost-sharing for coronavirus-related medical treatment, such as primary care visits, laboratory testing, emergency room visits, ambulance services, and FDA-approved medications and vaccines for COVID-19 when they become available.

The insurers who have agreed to waive cost-sharing are:

Aetna Better Health of Michigan
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network, MI Blue Cross Complete
HAP, Alliance Health
Humana Insurance
McLaren Health Plan
Meridian Health Plan
Molina Healthcare Michigan
Physicians Health Plan (PHP)
Priority Health, Priority Health Insurance Co., Priority Health Choice, Total Health Care
United Healthcare Insurance, United Healthcare Community Plan