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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

CITY OF ELY

COVID-19 info proves difficult to find

MDH says data will soon be tracked by ZIP code rather than county

Keith Vandervort
Posted 7/22/20

ELY –Two weeks after Independence Day, rumors were flying around town about a potential increase in local cases of the coronavirus. Trying to get anyone to confirm the unsubstantiated reports …

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CITY OF ELY

COVID-19 info proves difficult to find

MDH says data will soon be tracked by ZIP code rather than county

Posted

ELY –Two weeks after Independence Day, rumors were flying around town about a potential increase in local cases of the coronavirus. Trying to get anyone to confirm the unsubstantiated reports proved challenging.
Following several inquiries, the Timberjay learned from the local hospital on Monday that there has been no increase in cases in the greater Ely community over the last two months, and that the Minnesota Department of Health will soon be presenting coronavirus case number information by ZIP Code rather than by county.
The initial search for answers all started last Thursday with an ominous email from a local business owner to the Timberjay: “Is a COVID surge underway in Ely? That’s the scuttlebutt our (deleted) staff is hearing around town, and so they contacted the mayor and hospital – no response.  We asked a (local) nurse friend who said she can’t provide any details but that, yes, ‘it’s time to be very careful around Ely.’”
 The email continued, “Rather disconcerting, especially given the lack of any public alerts about this apparent uptick and Ely’s concurrent tourism surge. Chamber of Commerce says all lodging is filled through August.”
The Timberjay started asking around.
As a reminder, symptoms may appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus, according to the Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.
EBCH Marketing and Communications Team Leader Jodi Martin responded to questions about the potential “news tip” last Thursday.
“We’ve been getting a lot of emails regarding that, and actually I’m working with our CEO today to put out a press release regarding that. There is not much we can say with the HIPPA privacy laws.”
When asked if she was confirming an uptick of COVID-19 cases in the Ely area, she responded, “I’m not saying anything at this point. Everyone should continue to wear (protective) face masks.”
When pressed on the matter, Martin said, “I’m meeting with Patty (Banks, EBCH interim CEO) this morning. I have been getting emails all morning. The rumor-mill is going around town.”
Martin was unavailable Friday and a call to her voice mail was made first thing Monday morning.
As reported last weekend, all three taconite mines on the Iron Range confirmed at least one case of the coronavirus after two more facilities announced positive cases last week.
St. Louis County health officials said that more than 70 percent of the region’s cases are in Duluth but they are seeing increased transmission in the northern Minnesota communities that include the Iron Range.
Another rumor indicated that Ely Essentia Clinic, specifically Dr. Joe Bianco, was ready to provide a press briefing about the situation. An inquiry to him from the Timberjay confirmed that he was on vacation until the middle of this week and no such press conference was in the works. A nurse promised to get a message to Dr. Bianco about the inquiry, but no call back had been received by the end of the day on Monday.
Another conversation, this one with Ely Mayor Chuck Novak, shed little light on the issue.
“I’ll tell you what I know.” he said. “The Governor’s office and St. Louis County won’t tell me a (expletive deleted) number. They won’t tell me anything, and I have to resort to hearing it on the street.”
Novak provided the telephone number of Gov. Walz’s assistant chief of staff for external relations. That attempted conversation went straight to voice mail.
Another call to Martin at EBCH resulted in another voice mail late Monday afternoon.
She forwarded a press release within the hour:
“Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital (EBCH) officials announced today that despite an increase of COVID-19 cases reported by the county, there has been no increase in cases locally in the greater Ely community over the last two months.”
“Fortunately, our community and our providers and employees immediately responded and took necessary precautions. We must all stay vigilant in our efforts, though, and take nothing for granted,” said Patti Banks, Interim CEO of EBCH.
“Community members and media are advised to consult with St. Louis County or the Minnesota Department of Health officials for specific numbers, as that data is reported statewide and customarily released by government offices, and not individual hospitals.”
The press release included a description of COVID-19 precautions and protocols at EBCH.
MDH to change data reporting
The phone call to the governor’s office apparently was forwarded to the Minnesota Department of Health. Julie Bartkey, MDH media relations specialist-COVID, told the Timberjay late Monday that indeed all coronavirus data is currently tracked county-by-county but improvements are on the horizon.
“In the next week or two, our (COVID-19) tracking data will be presented by ZIP Code, and not by county,” she said. “That will give you an opportunity to find out about Ely specifically. As of now we just can’t get that granular in our data (reporting).”
Bartkey said she was surprised by the lack of information available locally.
“It is really unfortunate that your local public health has not been able to clarify anything. That really surprises me. Usually they are pretty good about that unless that don’t have the information either,” she said.
She said that one can assume there would be an uptick in coronavirus cases in the Ely area. “That is just where it’s going everywhere else in the state,” Bartkey said. “But to actually point to a city, not unless it is tied into a workplace that has specific public health interests.”
She added, “The message for your readers is the same thing we’ve been saying for a very long time. Even though it is greater Minnesota, and people have the assumption that COVID isn’t there, it is everywhere now and (is spread) by community transmission. Just taking our recommendations is going to help slow that down and mitigate it.