Olmsted County Public Health continues transition amid declining COVID numbers

Randy Petersen, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Mar. 15—ROCHESTER — Olmsted County Public Health has scaled back its COVID-related response structure by 90% since the peak of the pandemic.

Michael Melius, one of the department's two associate directors, told county commissioners Tuesday that the reduction doesn't mean county staff aren't watching COVID activity.

"Our surveillance system will be monitored, obviously," he said.

The latest reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have lowered the county's community transmission of COVID to "medium," but Melius said the 191 new cases per 100,000 residents — 303 total new cases countywide — reported in a seven-day period ending Monday mean the virus is still circulating.

"That in pre-COVID times would create an outbreak," he said of active cases currently circulating.

He said the local vaccination rate, with nearly 70% of the population having received at least one dose and 66% with a complete series, helps limit the impact of the virus as case numbers continue to decline.

Olmsted County Public Health Program Manager Meaghan Sherden said the CDC's updated standards being used to classify community spread of COVID appear to be geared toward treating the virus as an endemic, rather than a pandemic.

She said transitioning from a focus on test results to hospitalizations will help monitor the spread and its impact on community health. She said it helps overcome changes in reporting as more people use at-home tests, which aren't reported in state and federal numbers.

As county public health staff continue watching for potential changes in the community, Melius said employees are also transitioning to tackle work that has been put on hold during the past two years.

"For roughly two years, our prevention work has been put on hold," he said of programs that stalled as staff members moved into pandemic response roles.

In addition to returning to programs that were scaled back during the pandemic, he public health staff members are also studying lessons learned in the past two years.

He said the combined effort is intended to address the overall health of the county while staying prepared for potential changes in the future.