By Jessica Mathews/News@whmi.com


A tele-town hall event Friday evening helped shed light on steps being taken to combat the spread of COVID-19.

State Republican Senator Lana Theis of Brighton Township hosted the event offering updates on public policy, executive orders, and public health. It featured Dr. Juan Marquez, the new medical director for Livingston and Washtenaw Counties. Other lawmakers participating included local Republican State Representatives Hank Vaupel and Ann Bollin and Democratic State Representative Donna Lasinski.

Among the questions posed were contact tracing for individuals who have tested positive and what the county is doing if they find a positive case in order to inform people they may have been exposed. Another was related to information being released about hot spots within different counties and communities to avoid them. Many people are curious about where actual hotspots are so as to avoid those areas. Information about confirmed cases is being released by county but not specific municipalities.

Dr. Marquez said both departments are working toward trying to identify geographic areas that have more cases but there are some caveats to that. Marquez says one is that they want to do it in a way that’s respectful of people’s privacy because many times geography is actually quite revealing sand they don’t want to reveal anyone’s information by posting something identifiable and they’re working through that. Secondly, Marquez says even though hot spots might be highlighted on a map or in a zip code doesn’t mean people aren’t at risk. He advises that people just act as though the virus is everywhere. Marquez noted one of his concerns is that when people see a map and don’t live in a hot spot, they might not think they need to social distance or stay at home because there isn’t spread in the area. Marquez stressed they believe there will be spread throughout Southeast Michigan. He says there is significant community spread in Washtenaw and Livingston Counties and people think just because there’s a map that hasn’t been highlighted they’re not at risk. Marquez says everyone should think they are at risk and take appropriate steps.

Other questions centered on protecting individuals who are in close quarters with confirmed cases. Marquez said if family members take proper precautions, that can cut transmission pretty effectively. He says if a case is diagnosed to stay in their bedroom with other people in a common room, then it’s important to clean all of the high-touched surfaces in places such as the bathroom and kitchen. If the infected person comes out into a common area with other people, then Marquez says they should wear a mask – adding even a cloth mask would be effective to prevent transmission. He says taking those steps will cut the chances significantly but it definitely will not go to zero. Additionally discussed were priority groups for testing, such as first responders and people with underlying health conditions.

Marquez says both health departments are working really hard at contact tracing –which is not a trivial task. He says if someone is diagnosed, a staff member will contact the person and go through a very long questionnaire of symptoms, a timeline and people they’ve been in contact with. Marquez says they then go through and contact every person who is a close contact of that case to make sure they’re doing ok and don’t have symptoms and then ask that they be quarantined. He noted there is a difference between isolation and quarantine – which are basically doing the same things but a little different population. Marquez says for someone who is an initial diagnosed case, they ask them to be isolated and stay away from everybody until they get better. He says someone who has been close to that case would be asked to quarantine – which would be someone who doesn’t have symptoms but is at risk of developing symptoms. Marquez says they ask that person to quarantine for 14 days since their last exposure. That process is then repeated for every single contact the case has been in touch with. Marquez noted it is time consuming but thinks it’s a valuable way to try to break the chain of transmission, especially in clusters.

Several questions were also asked regarding where things stand with the use of hydroxychloroquine in Michigan to treat patients. State Representative Vaupel chairs the House Health Policy Committee. He told listeners that the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has instructed prescribers and doctors to use their best judgment. Vaupel said the LARA letter said professionals should use their own best judgement but not over use it. He stressed it did not eliminate prescribing the drug for COVID-patients – adding what they don’t want is for them to start prescribing so much it would result in a shortage for those that have been suing it or could possibly use it.