The coronavirus outbreak is still in its early days. But Kalamazoo County’s health director says there is already a shortage of supplies and a strain on healthcare workers.
Jim Rutherford briefed county commissioners Tuesday night. There are still no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Kalamazoo County. But Rutherford says his department is already getting requests for more masks and other protective gear from area health care agencies.
"We are recommending that hospitals and primary care docs and anybody associated with first-responders that they ration what they've got."
Rutherford also says he's worried about his own staff and others because of the strain of preparing to handle the pandemic.
"People can only work 12- or 13-hour days for so long before they become sometimes a liability for you. So, you have to kind of be gauging that. The same is true for hospitals and primary care and first-responders, law enforcement, this is escalated for everybody."
Rutherford says no one knows how long the health emergency will continue. But he hopes it won't last into July or August, as some federal officials have suggested.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer is expected to issue an executive order Wednesday, March 18, that could change or cancel the scheduled May 5th election because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kalamazoo County Clerk Tim Snow says he's contacted school districts that have millages and bond issues on the ballot, asking them to postpone their requests.
"We are asking them to move their questions and, basically, to eliminate the May election."
If that isn't possible, Snow says he may try to hold Michigan's first mail-only election. That could be a challenge, though. Kalamazoo City Clerk Scott Borling says he was about to send out eight-thousand applications for absentee ballots for the May election.
"Normally, that's an invitation for them to come to City Hall. One of the immediate questions is, can we put something in there saying, no, you have to do this by mail. Typically, the State Bureau of Elections doesn't like us putting anything additional in."
Like many local governments, the City of Kalamazoo has closed most of its buildings to the public because of the pandemic.
Tuesday night, Kalamazoo County commissioners rushed a millage request for 911 emergency phone service onto the August ballot without any public comment, or even putting it on their agenda. Commissioners say that was necessary because the outbreak may force them to cancel their meetings next month.
