2020-11-12 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Protecting, Maintaining and Improving the Health of AllMinnesotans November 9, 2020 To: Anoka County Elected Officials I am writing to make sure you are aware that Anoka County currently has a COVID positivity rate of greater than 5%. This rate reflects the number of COVID-19 tests that were positive over the total number of tests performed in your county during the most recent 14-day period prior to a one week lag period to assure data completeness. IğǝźƓŭ ğ ƦƚƭźƷźǝźƷǤ ƩğƷĻ ğĬƚǝĻ Ўі ƒĻğƓƭ ƷŷĻ ƭƦƩĻğķ ƚŅ ƷŷĻ ǝźƩǒƭ źƓ ǤƚǒƩ ĭƚǒƓƷǤ ŷğƭ ƩĻğĭŷĻķ ğ ĭƚƓĭĻƩƓźƓŭ ƌĻǝĻƌ͵ IźŭŷĻƩ ƩğƷĻƭ ƚŅ ǝźƩǒƭ ƷƩğƓƭƒźƭƭźƚƓ źƓ ƷŷĻ ĭƚƒƒǒƓźƷǤ źƓĭƩĻğƭĻ ƷŷĻ ƩźƭƉ ŅƚƩ ğƌƌ ƒĻƒĬĻƩƭ ƚŅ ǤƚǒƩ ĭƚƒƒǒƓźƷǤͲ źƓĭƌǒķźƓŭ ƩĻƭźķĻƓƷƭ ğƓķ ƭƷğŅŅ źƓ ƌƚƓŭΏƷĻƩƒ ĭğƩĻ Λ\[/Μ ŅğĭźƌźƷźĻƭ͵ As cases continue to rise, the residents and staff in these facilities are at serious risk even as they take aggressive action to limit infections. This can be a significant concern because: Data shows that one in four long-term care residents who develop COVID-19 will be hospitalized, and one in five will die from the disease. In addition, community and workplace- related exposure and infection of staff can lead to staffing shortages, jeopardizing care for all residents. Although LTC facilities have made great efforts to keep their residents and staff safe, the good work that has taken place in these settings cannot completely protect facilities and residents from the high rate of viral transmission in the communities surrounding them. All too often, the virus enters a facility from staff who have been exposed through their interactions in the community, often through contact with someone who is infected but may have mild or no symptoms and be unaware that they have COVID. As the number of cases in the community continues to increase, it is increasingly likely that these hard-won safeguards of our most vulnerable Minnesotans will be overwhelmed. The consequences of this can be grave. -day percent positivity rate is greater than 10%, skilled nursing facilities and assisted living settings will no longer be able to allow visitors beyond Essential Caregivers and compassionate care. This will increase isolation for LTC residents, which presents risks for their physical and mental well-being. To avoid this unfortunate development, we all need to pull together. Here is what the state and local public health (LPH) departments are doing to help facilities in your community: The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) provides guidance on implementing infection control best practices, health care worker monitoring, drafting crisis-staffing plans and implementing testing requirements. MDH has distributed all best practices to LTC facilities and is available seven days a week to help facilities in crisis. An equal opportunity employer.