October 2020
16
Bnaakwii The GTB Health Department (GTBHD) would like to announce the following updates • Transportation services have been fully restored. We are currently transporting all patients and providing pickup and delivery services. Due to COVID-19 precautions, transports are currently occurring one patient per vehicle only and for local distances in all GTB services areas. Please call the transportation hotline at (231) 534-7222 to schedule your service. • Please see table below for additional locations and service hours for COVID-19 testing and the flu shot. Additional updates will be announced as we are working to provide more services at all our locations. If you would like to schedule a COVID-19 test, please call (231) 534-7256. All COVID-19 testing will occur by appointment only. Flu-shots can occur on a walk-in basis.
The CDC believes it’s likely that flu viruses and the virus that causes COVID-19 will both be spreading this fall and winter. Getting a flu vaccination is thus more important than ever to protect yourself and your loved ones from the seasonal influenza virus, and to conserve medical resources in case they are needed to care for people with COVID-19. We strongly encourage everyone to get a COVID-19 test at the GTBHD at this time and receive their annual flu vaccination. GTBHD has to date performed 1,260 tests with 8 positive results. Please do not hesitate to contact the GTBHD for concerns regarding this update or questions. Respectfully, Soumit Pendharkar, MHA, FACHE Health Administrator
COVID-19 Testing Policy Update The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians is committed to taking necessary steps to keep the Tribal community and the community-at-large protected and armed with the most recent information on the COVID-19 outbreak within the GTB Reservation. As a result of the detection of additional COVID-19 positive cases, the Tribal Council has enacted restrictions limiting the number of people who can gather in one place, has scaled back Tribal government operations to essential staff only, and reduced Health Clinic and Dental services to essential services. The Tribal Council also taken two policy-based actions to specifically address COVID-19 concerns in the workplace. They have been attached for your review and reference. Section 705.01 Employee Travel Outside Local Area/Exposure/Self-Quarantine has been modified to apply the current MLOA Policy regarding funerals, MLOA (pre-approved LOA), Jury Duty (Court Subpoena), etc., to apply in circumstances where employees are traveling outside of the local area. In some cases, depending on the circumstances, the employee may be required to utilize PTO/Vacation time and required to selfquarantine, therefore employees are asked to take this into account when considering travel outside of the area. The Tribal Council has also implemented a mandatory testing policy for those employees who may be asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 and who are in the workplace. Your department manager will inform you of those dates selected for your department to test. The GTB Health Clinic will perform these tests at no cost. You are not required to test at the Health Clinic, but please be advised that testing at another location may be at your own expense and you will be required to ensure test results are received by the Human Resources Department. In the event you have a positive test, please ensure the Human Resources Department has been notified. You will be provided further instructions as to next steps, including re-testing, quarantine, isolation, and a return-to-work protocol. Please be advised that these policies are in the nature of protecting the health and safety of you, your fellow employees and the community. Your compliance is strictly required (See Personnel Policy, §500.00 (9)). Failure to comply with these policies may subject you
G i i z i s / ( Fal l i n g L ea ve s M oon) to disciplinary action up to, and including, termination. At this time, GTB will continue to pay non-furlough government staff affected by the closure through October 2, 2020. The Tribe will monitor the need for extensions of closures and will notify Tribal employees accordingly. The Tribal Council will continue to monitor the situation and monitor its re-opening plans, keeping in mind that limiting contact is our best defense to the spread of the virus. In order to ensure you are aware of some specific terms related to COVID-19-based preventative measures, please see definitions of some common terms and best practices below. Additional announcements and information will follow. Quarantine: If you have been in “significant contact” with a laboratory confirmed positive case, it is recommended that you quarantine for 14 days and consider getting tested. This is CDC guidance based on the average time of viral infection and replication. The purpose is to separate yourself from other people and the general population to avoid spreading an illness. This means: • Staying home, not going to work, rescheduling doctor’s visits, and if you need groceries or supplies having someone bring those to your home. • This is regardless of a negative test. It is possible to have a negative test because of a low viral colonization and still shed the virus to other people. • Consider having other people tested in the home, especially if there are symptoms. • If you develop symptoms you need to manage them like a cold or flu and consider getting re-tested if your initial test was negative. Significant Contact: • You’ve been in contact with someone that has had positive laboratory confirmed test. • You must have been within 6 feet or less, for 10-15 minutes or more, with or without masks. • Any touching, kissing, hugging, or similar physical contact. Any sharing of eating or drinking utensils. Being coughed or sneezed on. • Contact must have been 2 days before the positive test or patient’s start of symptoms. Isolation: This is stricter than quarantine. This applies when you have had a positive test AND/OR experiencing symptoms consistent with respiratory illness (cough, sore throat, fever, etc.). This is when you “isolate” yourself at home from all people that are not sick. The purpose is to avoid getting other people sick and to take care of yourself while you recover. This applies to people that have: • Symptoms and positive test • Symptoms (consistent with respiratory illness) and waiting to be tested • No symptoms but positive test This means: • Isolating yourself in your home, potentially from other people in the same house if they are not sick; • Managing your symptoms like a cold or flu, monitoring for severe symptoms; or • Monitoring for symptoms to develop if you’ve had a positive test and are asymptomatic. Even if you are quarantined or isolated, it is okay to leave your home, for example, to go for a walk, if there is no contact with other persons. GTB Health Clinic COVID-19 will continue to provide testing for all staff working on site testing if they have adequate supplies. Events will be announced using NIXLE social media pages as well as text messaging services. COVID-19 symptoms: include a fever, sudden loss of taste or smell, dry cough, fatigue, sore throat, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. In addition, you should consider taking precautions if you have been in close contact with anyone who has been confirmed positive test. In these cases, please contact your medical provider immediately.
