By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


Livingston County has two known outbreaks of COVID-19 in what are being referred to as “congregate settings” generally referring to facilities such as adult foster care, group homes, homeless shelters, independent living facilities, long term care facilities, nursing homes, prisons and juvenile justice facilities.

According to the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, as of April 15th two of those types of facilities were located in Livingston County. Specific details on which facilities are involved are not being provided by health officials. The two outbreaks are among 243 in Michigan. Wayne County has the most, with 61, which does not include the City of Detroit, which has 22. Oakland County is the second-highest county with 56.

While specific sites are not being released, it is documented that nursing homes have been among the prime targets for the disease caused by coronavirus. Medilodge of Livingston previously acknowledged it had COVID-positive patients. One of them, 75-year-old Mary Catlin, died April 14th of COVID-19, according to her family who said she contracted the disease after the facility began accepting patients recovering from the coronavirus. Caretel Inns of Brighton also has accepted COVID-19 patients into a single, centralized unit that has a floor plan layout and entry points that allow for total separation from other patients. WellBridge Group said earlier this month it was preparing one of its facilities to become a COVID-only unit.

Last week, State Senator Lana Theis requested that Gov. Whitmer order a halt to all transfers of COVID-positive patients into nursing care facilities. Theis wrote that “the decision to house recovering COVID-19 patients seems like an incredibly dangerous decision, and completely counter to the Executive Order” that Governor Whitmer has issued twice. She went on to say that “given that 64% of deceased COVID-19 patients in Michigan are over the age of 70, it does not make sense to unnecessarily increase the risk” to the most vulnerable populations by moving people who have already been infected. Theis wrote that she respectfully suggests this practice be immediately discontinued, and that such persons be relocated to alternative sites, like existing field hospitals that have been built for the express purpose of housing patients.

Meanwhile, the Livingston County Jail remains COVID-free according to Sheriff Mike Murphy, who told WHMI last week that they had been proactive on the issue and began locking down the facility early on, quarantining new arrivals for 14 days.