Berrien County health officials are urging residents to be diligent about following COVID-19 safety protocols after the more contagious UK strain of the virus was identified in neighboring Van Buren County earlier this week.
County Health Officer Nicki Britten said while the county’s new daily case count and hospitalizations continue to decline, the variant could drive those numbers back up if residents aren’t careful about masking and social distancing.
“When things are going good, that’s when I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop," she said. "So I don’t want us to get too comfortable and stop doing the things that matter most, especially when we have some variants.”
Britten said the health department is working with Spectrum Health Lakeland to coordinate mass vaccination sites for certain sets of essential workers and individuals age 65 and over.
She said the department is also trying to improve vaccine access by hosting drive-through and pop-up clinics, and performing on-site vaccinations for homebound individuals.
Contact Gemma atgdicarlo@wvpe.orgor follow her on Twitter at@gemma_dicarlo.
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