Clay County Nursing Director Jamie Hennen and Public Health Director Kathy McKay report local Covid-19 news to the county commissioners.
Karen Newman
At their September 8 meeting, the Clay County Commission listened to updates on Covid-19 provided by Public Health Director Kathy McKay and Clay County Nursing Director Jamie Hennen.
As of September 7, Clay County recorded 1011 confirmed positive cases since March. The total county Covid-19 death toll remains at 40.
McKay reminded the group that Clay County K-12 schools utilize the county’s 14 Day Case Rate/10,000 population to determine what the schools’ educational format will be. If the number is under 10, in -person classes may be conducted. The current Clay County number is 7.8. Border community reporting issues, due to county residents receiving testing and care in ND medical facilities, continue to make compiling exact data problematic.
Hennen said that the past week’s guidance from the Minnesota Public Health Department emphasized safe gatherings over the Labor Day holiday. The guidance pointed out that safe celebrations require following guidelines for numbers attending, masking and social distancing.
County Administrator Stephen Larson and Human Resources Director Darren Brook submitted CARES Act Committee funding requests to the commission. for review and approval. The Clay County Soil and Water Conservation District was allotted $1325.50 for a laptop computer which permits staff to attend virtual meetings and facilitate staff working from home during office closures due to the pandemic. The Public Health Department received approval for $70,000 to construct a storage facility for the Clay County Public Health District to be used for housing Covid-19-related supplies and equipment.
The Clay County Small Business Relief CARES Act Application period closed. 137 applications were received, 102 applications were approved, 12 applications were denied, and 23 were under review at the time of the meeting. The applications under review as of September 8 are included in the funding totals. The CARES Business Relief allotment breakdown follows:
· Corporation total $400,000
· Limited Liability Company $240,000
· Non-profit 501©19 $40,000
· Non-profit 501©3 $150,000
· Partnership $10,000
· Sole Proprietorship $129,000
· GRAND TOTAL $969,000