Health Officer Talks COVID Tracking

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As Berrien County edges closer to reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic, what statistics is the Berrien County Health Department studying? County Health Officer Nicki Britten says one number is the weekly death total. That’s looking flat in Berrien County.

“We still do not have a day where our seven day moving average is above one,” Britten said. “So we are not at a point where we are even seeing an average of one death every single day. There are some periods where we’re getting closer to that.”

Britten noted most of the numbers are staying flat, including hospitalizations.

“On the whole, we’re not seeing a huge spike in admissions, and we do know that a high proportion of people who are being admitted are people who are residents of long-term care facilities that are experiencing outbreaks of COVID-19.

Another stat the county considers important is what percentage of the tests are coming back positive. That’s showing an overall downward trend. Britten said all of these things will factor into the department’s guidance for business reopenings.