By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – Last week’s Berrien County Board of Commissioners virtual meeting featured discussion and
action on a number of items. As has been the case over the last two months, discussion of the county’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was front and center.
Besides the pandemic, county commissioners addressed other issues including the Napier Avenue “road diet” and the process of finding a new county administrator to replace William Wolf who is retiring in June. In addition, commissioners took time to honor County Parks Director Brian Bailey who is retiring this month.
Berrien County Health Officer Nikki Britten offered her
weekly report on where things stand in Berrien County when it comes to COVID-19. She also took time to answer commissioners’ questions and dispel some myths. At the time of her presentation, there were 425 COVID-19 cases and 26 deaths in the county.
Britten said that while the number of confirmed cases has increased, it’s due in large part to the fact that more people are being tested. She noted that while there were more COVID-19 deaths in the second half of April, there was less than one death a day. In addition, she said the number of people hospitalized has not increased dramatically.
“We are not seeing a huge spike in admissions and a high proportion of those admitted are residents of long-term care facilities,” she said. “Those in adult foster care homes, nursing homes and assisted living centers are the populations that are at greater risk.”
She also spoke about local “re-opening” efforts which are being done in partnership with other entities such as area chambers of commerce and economic development organizations. A www.berrienreopens.org website has been set up to give people a central hub where they can get information on best practices to minimize the spread.
She noted that best practices involve more than just having personal protection equipment, it requires social distancing, sanitation and hygiene, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine and access control. “It’s not as simple as putting on a mask and thinking you’re fine,” she said. “You need all the other measures and then the ppe.”
Commissioners asked a variety of questions on topics ranging from the availability of testing and whether “snow birds” should quarantine themselves when they come back from winter homes in the south to whether death counts are accurate and the importance of herd immunity.
Britten said testing right now is being reserved for those who are symptomatic or who have been exposed to confirmed positive cases. “We have to focus on the vulnerable and symptomatic,” she said. “We’re still not at the level of anyone wanting to be tested being tested. Even if we were testing more, a negative test is just about a point in time.”
As for possible quarantines for “snow bird” residents coming back to the area, she said there’s no targeted effort to do that but acknowledged that it would be good for them to quarantine themselves for 14 days to make sure they’re not ill.
Britten spent time talking about the accuracy of COVID-19 death counts. “How we define the cause of death is something that’s always a bit of an art and science,” she said. “Even if someone is terminally ill, if COVID-19 is the thing that causes the death it is listed as the cause of death. If someone has COVID-19 and then dies later of something else, that’s more tricky … There’s no attempt here to mark up or claim more COVID deaths.”
On the topic of herd immunity, she noted that the transmission of the disease can be stopped if a large enough percentage of the population is immune. In the current situation, she said the virus is so new that the tons of people are still susceptible.
“As we re-open the community, we have to be really cautious to protect people and reduce the risks of transmission,” she said. “My prediction is that we will see a bit of an increase in cases as we open up. There’s not really a plan on how do we infect people to get herd immunity quickly. The best case scenario would be to have a vaccine by next winter.”
In other business, the county board approved the next stage in the Napier Avenue “road diet” in Benton Harbor to take the road from four to three lanes to improve safety. The first phase approved last year will be done this summer. The phase approved last week will be done this fall. The cost is $873,300 with the county paying $303,385 of that amount.
Commissioners honored longtime Parks Director Brian Bailey who is retiring this month after 30 years with the county. He has been the parks director since 2008 and overseen the development of three five-year plans and the acquisition of land for new parks, additions to existing ones and the inclusion of the Historic Courthouse Square into the park system.
County board chairman Mac Elliott noted that Bailey’s efforts have been invaluable to the county over the years, including early on when he worked diligently behind the scenes to secure the land and trust fund grant for the current Silver Beach County Park in St. Joseph.
Elliott also gave an update on the search for a new county administrator. Commissioners reviewed 15 to 20 applications and one person will be interviewed at this week’s meeting. While no one else has been scheduled to be interviewed, Elliott did not rule out more interviews depending on the outcome of the one this week.
The interview will take place at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 21 during that morning’s virtual board meeting. County board meetings are currently streamed live on the county’s YouTube channel. The name of the person being interviewed was not released last week to give the person the chance to inform his or her current employer.
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