Trending
MARQUETTE -- Students at Northern Michigan University do not need to be vaccinated -- for now -- to attend classes during the fall semester.
In a Thursday letter to students, faculty and staff, NMU President Fritz Erickson elaborated on the issue.
"Since Marquette and most of the Upper Peninsula are not at the level the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) considers high risk, we're not going to change our policy for now and we'll continue to monitor the situation," Erickson said.
He acknowledged that there may be external entities such as state and federal governments, NCAA or athletic conferences and others, or "significant changes" to the public health situation that impact NMU's decision-making, but Northern will not require vaccination.
Employees and students without vaccination documentation provided to The Bridge app will be required to demonstrate regular symptom self-monitoring except during official university breaks.
Still, Erickson pointed out that unvaccinated students, faculty, staff and visitors are required to properly wear masks over their noses and mouths when indoors at an NMU facility.
"This will be done on the honor system, meaning that NMU will not outright ask who is vaccinated and who is not," Erickson said. "However, violators of the policy are subject to employee/student discipline, if needed; violating guests will be asked to leave campus, if needed."
Additionally, all vaccinated individuals are welcomed and encouraged to wear masks as needed or desired.
Campus areas with restrictive space or mandated by state or federal requirements may require all individuals to wear masks, with these places clearly signed.
Erickson said NMU will not hold mass COVID-19 testing events, although it will hold a COVID-19 vaccination clinic during move-in week. Tests will not be required for attendance at the start of the year as it was for the 2020-21 year.
NMU plans to return to predominantly in-person instruction and on-campus living with the start of fall classes on Aug. 23.
NMU has moved isolation/quarantine activities from Spalding Hall to Spooner Hall, and will have 26 beds for residence hall students available for these purposes, Erickson said.
There is another significant change.
"Unlike last year, faculty members will not be require to provide remote learning options for those in isolation or quarantine," Erickson said. "It will be up to the student to work with their faculty to develop a plan for how to make up missed class time, assignments and learning opportunities."
It will be the faculty member's choice, he noted, if they want to make Zoom an option for students missing class due to illness, isolation or quarantine.
"The goal remains that each of us sees it as our personal responsibility to take care of ourselves; our classmates, colleagues and neighbors; and our overall university and Marquette communities," Erickson said.
Timber aid available
Timber harvesters and haulers may apply for a share of $200 million in federal aid for losses experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Pandemic Assistance for Timber Harvesters and Haulers program.
"This program can provide critical assistance to loggers," said Jeff Stampfly, state forester and chief of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Forest Resources Division, in a statement.
"Michigan's timber industry supports thousands of good-paying jobs and has been working tirelessly through the pandemic to provide material for a range of uses from housing to paper products," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. "Thanks to our federal partners, the Timber Harvesters and Haulers program can offer grants up to $125,000 for businesses in the industry who saw business decline in the midst of COVID-19 last year. With this infusion of resources, the timber industry can join our ongoing economic jumpstart and power Michigan to new highs."
Harvesters and haulers whose businesses experienced a gross revenue loss of at least 10% from Jan. 1 to Dec. 1, 2020, compared with the previous year, are encouraged to apply. Eligible loggers and truckers can apply through the USDA's Farm Service Agency by Oct. 15.
Businesses where 50% or more of gross revenue is derived from cutting or transporting timber or from processing wood on site in the forest, such as chipping, grinding, cutting to smaller lengths, converting to biochar, are eligible.
The maximum amount for any individual or entity to receive is $125,000. For more information, contact DNR staff Brenda Haskill at haskillb@michigan.gov or David Neumann at neumannd@michigan.gov, or visit bit.ly/3C6APTN for more details.
Rules to expand availability
The state of Michigan has submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expressing support for proposed rule changes to protect and expand Michiganders' access to high-quality, affordable health insurance.
Open enrollment on the Health Insurance Marketplace normally runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15 annually, with coverage starting on Jan. 1 of the following year. Under the proposed CMS rule changes, the yearly open enrollment period would be extended through Jan. 15.
The proposed extension would begin for the 2022 benefit year and also would apply for future benefit years after 2022.
Michigan's comments also expressed support for the proposed CMS rule change that would allow states with federally operated Health Insurance Marketplaces, including Michigan, to offer a monthly Special Enrollment Period to low-income consumers.
Currently, SEPs are available only when consumers have experienced a qualified life change, but the proposed rule would create monthly SEPs. This would allow consumers with a household income no greater than 150% of the federal poverty level access to health insurance coverage and take advantage of the expanded advance premium tax credits offered under the American Rescue Plan.
Michiganders needing health coverage for this year are encouraged to visit HealthCare.gov by Aug. 15. Visit the Department of Insurance and Financial Services website at bit.ly/3foH7nN for more information, or call the DIFS at 877-999-6442 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
AmeriCorps investment announced
Whitmer and the Michigan Community Service Commission have announced Michigan's $24.5 million AmeriCorps investment, which will support over 1,000 AmeriCorps members tackling issues such as COVID-19 recovery, disaster services, economic opportunity, environmental stewardship, education, health and safer communities.
"This funding will help them continue their efforts and play a role in our state's economic jumpstart as we emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever," Whitmer said in a statement.
During 2020 program, AmeriCorps members served 33,275 youth, treated 1,026 acres of public land and provided 6,541 individuals with health services.
This investment will support 26 Michigan organizations through 28 subgrants and one planning grant to expand their reach and impact in Michigan communities.
State looking into bike event
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is working with local public health departments on an investigation of cases of COVID-19 associated with the Muskegon Bike Time event held July 15-18.
Muskegon Bike Time is a four-day motorcycle event held in west Michigan. At least 16 cases of COVID-19 have been identified among this year's attendees and their contacts, including individuals who were at the event while they were infectious. Anyone attending Muskegon Bike Time might have been exposed to the virus.
"We continue to see outbreaks of COVID-19 in Michigan, including outbreaks involving the more transmissible Delta variant," said. Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at MDHHS, in a statement. "Attendees at Bike Time may have been exposed and are urged to get tested based on CDC's latest guidelines. Our best protection against the virus is the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. I urge all eligible Michiganders to get vaccinated as soon as possible."