April 9, 2021 I News Release
Media Contact: Kristina Wieghmink, OCDPH public information officer
kwieghmink@miottawa.org I mobile/text 616-510-8523
Ottawa County, along with the rest of the state, is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. Testing for COVID-19 is more important than ever to understand the scope of the virus's spread and making data-informed decisions on how to best protect our community. Spring break traveling, more contagious variants circulating and some individuals relaxing disease prevention mitigations, are more reasons to encourage people to get tested for COVID-19. If you have COVID-like symptoms and/or have been in close contact with someone infected, please get tested and self-quarantine. Contact your primary care provider for any medical needs.
The Ottawa County Department of Public Health (OCDPH) is offering rapid antigen testing available to anyone with or without symptoms (parental consent required for minors). Samples are taken by nasal swab. Results within 15-30 min.
No appointment needed • No doctor’s order needed • No insurance needed
No Fee • Please bring a form of ID • No pets allowed • Wear a face covering
Click for Testing Instructions
Saturday, April 10, 17 & 24 from 10 am - 3 pm
12251 James St, Holland, MI 49424
(Please use the Holland Charter Township Fire Department Entrance.)
Tuesday, April 13 & 20 from 2 pm - 7 pm
Coopersville United Methodist Church
105 68th Ave N, Coopersville MI 49404
More Ottawa County testing site locations at miOttawa.org/covid19.
Take Action & Reduce Your Risk
- If you receive a positive COVID-19 test result, isolate for a minimum of 10 days from the start of your symptom(s) or your positive test date if you didn’t have symptoms.
- Notify your close contacts that they may have been exposed and encourage them to quarantine for a minimum of 14 days from their last date of contact with you.
- If you know you are a close contact, start self-quarantine.
- To determine your release from isolation or quarantine date, please visit the online calculators here.
- If you need a letter to return to work if you have been under isolation or quarantine, please complete the self-reporting form here.
Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Updates
Because COVID-19 is spreading significantly across the state, public health is unable to
contact everyone who may have been exposed to the virus or there may be a delay. Individuals should limit their exposure, and if they become sick, do their best to contact everyone they may have exposed, including their employer or school.
You may receive a call or a text message to get your case investigation details. If you receive a text message, it will ask for your name and date of birth. Please also be sure to answer your phone, even if it’s from an unknown number, since it could be MDHHS or OCDPH calling to complete your case investigation.
Please be on alert for scammers spoofing numbers from the local health departments (it appears as if the caller is calling from a recognizable number to encourage you to pick up the phone).
Legitimate calls from the state or local health department will not:
- Ask for personal financial information such as a social security number or driver’s license number.
- Offer medication for prevention of COVID-19 (but they may call to schedule an
appointment for you to be vaccinated)
- Ask for Medicaid or other insurance information for billing purposes.
MDHHS Update: 14-Day Quarantine for All Close Contacts in Effect
Updated April 8, 2021: Due to increasing case rates and variant spread in Michigan, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has reinstated a standard 14-day quarantine for close contacts of COVID-19 cases.
Should I get tested if I have to quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19?
If you are quarantining because you were exposed to the virus, but don’t have any symptoms, it is recommended you wait until at least five days have passed since your quarantine began before getting tested. However, a negative test result can not be used to end quarantine early.
How are people monitored after they are exposed to the virus?
Public health professionals contact individuals with COVID-19 to ask questions about what people they have recently been in contact with to learn who else might have been exposed to the virus. People who are identified as close contacts of a person with diagnosed COVID-19 will be contacted to determine the status of their health (do they have symptoms of respiratory illness?) and advised to self-quarantine or self-isolate based on their situation and monitor themselves for symptoms.
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Isolation is for people who have symptoms of respiratory illness.
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Quarantine is for people who may have been exposed (close contacts) but do not have any symptoms.
- The local health department has legal authority to mandate quarantine or isolation for people. They will make this decision based on possible contacts and symptoms, in order to stop the virus from spreading.
I’ve been around someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. Do I need to
quarantine?
- If you were not considered a close contact:
In general, it is encouraged that people stay home right now, as much as possible. Of course, if you develop symptoms, and are concerned about your health, contact your healthcare provider to discuss your symptoms.
- If you are a close contact:
You should self-quarantine away from others and monitor yourself for symptoms for 14 days since the last day you had contact with that person. If you develop symptoms of COVID-19, you should immediately isolate and get tested. Please call your healthcare provider, look for a testing site using the Testing Site Look Up Tool or call the COVID-19 hotline at 888-535-6136 for help finding a site near you.
- If you are a healthcare worker: Follow your facility’s guidance.
Quarantine instructions for people who are fully vaccinated
Fully vaccinated people who meet criteria are no longer be required to quarantine following an exposure to someone with COVID-19 Individuals should keep their COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card to confirm their exemption from quarantine.
The immune period begins two weeks after vaccination:
- If given a two-dose vaccine series (Pfizer, Moderna) immunity builds two weeks after the second dose.
- If given a one-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) immunity builds two weeks after the that dose.
Based on the schedules above, the individual may be exempt from quarantine, provided the individual does not have any COVID-19 symptoms. This exemption does not apply to vaccinated inpatients and residents in health care settings.
More MDHHS isolation and quarantine information on pages 11-15 here.
Learn more at Michigan.gov/ContainCOVID.
COVID-19 Vaccines are working!
The OCDPH chart below shows people aged 70 years and older make up far less of new cases since more than 60% of them are completely vaccinated. Find more local vaccination data here. More information about the COVID-19 vaccines here.
Also, check out the State of Michigan’s epidemiology report (pg 36), for more information on how the vaccine is reducing disease burden in more specific age groups.
Click the image to enlarge.
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