The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency (BHSJ) has reported no additional COVID-19 related deaths in St. Joseph County since Watershed Voice last provided an update on August 25, just over three weeks ago. There have been 11 confirmed deaths in the county since the start of the pandemic, while the number of new cases per day has dropped since WSV’s last report in August, according to statistics posted on the BHSJ website.
“We’ve been trending generally down,” BHSJ Health Officer Rebecca Burns said. “As far as daily cases every day, that’s slowed down, which we are glad to see.” At the time of the August 25 report, there were 576 total cases in the county since the start of the pandemic. There have now been 625, meaning an average of two new cases per day between then and now. Between June and August, the new case count fluctuated between six and 10 on most days, going even higher on some.
Burns does not see any clear correlation between the decrease and any specific executive orders on masking or other measures. “I hope that more people are mask wearing, and I hope we’re getting better compliance from businesses on that, but I don’t know that I can say that it’s all due to that.”
Masking works to limit transmission of diseases primarily by catching the virus, borne on tiny moisture droplets, as it is exhaled by the wearer, according to agencies like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).When worn by two or more people in the same space, it reduces the likelihood of transmission to less than one percent.
In St. Joseph County, an increase in the daily rate of new cases came after the partial end of the statewide pandemic shutdown in June. However, nationwide, masking in public has become steadily more widespread over the last three months.
It comes corollary to the replacement of the full pandemic shutdown in most states with other measures like masking and social distancing rules, and limitations on certain types of businesses and gathering places. Locally, wider adoption of some of these measures may account for the county’s lower rates of infection in the last few weeks.
Despite the reduction in cases, work is still busy at BHSJ. “It’s not any less crazy. Schools have started, so there is a lot of back and forth,” Burns said. School districts have been coordinating with BHSJ to implement back-to-school plans that incorporate pandemic control measures, like masking, social distancing rules, monitoring for symptoms, and remote learning. That coordination process has largely been successful, Burns said.
“They key with back-to-school is good communication between the school and the health department,” Burns said. “I think we’ve really been able to foster that communication over the summer months, and that’s serving us well as we move into the school year.”
Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.
