PIGGOTT

MARQUETTE — While the exact number of COVID-19 tests administered in Marquette County is not known, over 100 tests have been sent out of the county, according to Marquette County Medical Director Dr. Kevin Piggott.

Many health departments throughout the Upper Peninsula have released testing numbers, such as the Dickinson County Healthcare System, which states 22 specimens have been sent out for testing as of Thursday.

However, the true numbers are difficult to track, Piggott said, which is why exact figures from the MCHD have not been reported.

When testing for COVID-19 first began in Michigan, specimens were collected and sent to a state lab for testing. Those tests were then sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To complete this process, health care workers had to fill out persons under investigation forms and send them to local health departments, which would obtain a specific number to put on the specimen before being sent to the labs.

This allowed health departments to know exactly how many tests were administered, but once commercial labs began testing, providers and physicians didn’t have to send a person under investigation form to health departments, Piggott said.

“Once that was the case, we no longer know exactly how many are being reported, even though we are asking for providers to still fill out the persons under investigation form and send them to us,” Piggott said. “We know we are not receiving all of those.”

He’s certain this is occurring because the MCHD is receiving negative reports back from individuals that it never received persons under investigation forms for in the first place, he said.

“So you see the disconnect in the system. And again, that’s because all these systems are having to be created on the fly and that sometimes leaves holes,” Piggott said.

Marquette County reported its first confirmed positive case of COVID-19 Monday.

There are now a total of four confirmed cases in all of the U.P., but Michigan cases total over 2,800, as of Thursday.

As the crisis progresses, supplies such as gowns, gloves, masks and other personal protective equipment are becoming more scarce throughout the nation.

On Tuesday, the priority for testing patients who are suspected of infection was revised for health care professionals.

A document from the U.S. Public Health Service lists:

≤ Priority one patients are hospitalized patients and health care facility workers with symptoms.

This “ensures optimal care options for all hospitalized patients, lessens the risk of health-care-associated infections and maintains the integrity of the U.S. healthcare system,” the document states.

≤ Priority two patients include patients in long term care facilities with symptoms, patients 65 years of age and older with symptoms, patients with underlying conditions and symptoms and first responders with symptoms.

This “ensures those at highest risk of complication of infection are rapidly identified and appropriately triaged,” according to officials.

≤ Priority three patients include critical infrastructure workers with symptoms, individuals who do not meet any of the above categories with symptoms, health care facility workers and first responders, individuals with mild symptoms in communities experiencing high numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

“As resources allow, test individuals in the surrounding community of rapidly increasing hospital cases to decrease community spread and ensure health of essential workers,” the document reads.

It lists those who displaying none of the symptoms of COVID-19 — fever, cough and shortness of breath — as non-priority patients.

The CDC website also states health care professionals should use their discretion to determine if a patient has signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and should be tested.

Patient testing for upper respiratory infections has always been prioritized, as respiratory panels are costly and often result in doctors telling patients to simply stay in and rest, Piggott said.

A respiratory panel for one patient can cost upwards of $2,000, he added.

Ideally, testing would be more widespread but the availability of nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal swabs and viral transport media presents limitations.

“That’s where you now limit the number of people (being tested) to those that truly we have to know to manage their care and manage the safety of everyone else. And that’s why it’s focus number one: First that hospitalized patient, because we have to take all the appropriate cautions if this person does have COVID-19, that we’re doing all the (personal protective equipment) and on down the line,” he said. “That burns through equipment and if you find that person doesn’t have it, you wouldn’t have had to use all that.”

The appropriate precautions should have been taken before the county received its first positive case, he said, but Piggott hopes more and more people begin taking the mitigation strategies seriously.

“We’re supposed to be staying home at this point in time. Please stay home if you’re feeling ill, definitely stay home. And if you’re feeling ill, but this is a scenario that, say last year, you would have just stayed home and rode it through, that can still be done even if it is COVID-19,” Piggott said. “If your symptoms are progressing or significantly worsening that is when you want to contact your provider and get their advice.”

Trinity Carey can be reached by email at tcarey@miningjournal.net.