By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


The county’s newly appointed medical director addressed the lower infection rate of coronavirus in Livingston County compared to surrounding areas and how there are still a lot of unknowns.

Dr. Juan Marquez is the Medical Director for the Livingston and Washtenaw County health departments. As of Tuesday afternoon, Livingston County had 155 known cases of the COVID-19 virus, a number relatively lower than the number cases in neighboring Washtenaw and Genesee counties, and 24-times lower than Oakland County to the east.

Dr. Marquez says he can’t be certain, but he theorizes that this may be because of Livingston County’s lower population. He said Livingston is a little more rural and spread out than, say, Washtenaw, and that may be affecting the transmission dynamics. The doctor said if you think about more densely populated cities, it is easier for the disease to spread between people. If you think of a place that’s a little more spread out, it’s harder for the virus to transmit.

Even with fewer residents, the incidents per population is still lower in Livingston County. Dr. Marquez says, however, that the virus is likely more prevalent than what tests are showing. While he says they have enough testing capacity in Livingston County, they are still limited by the number of reagents available. The priority guidelines also pose a challenge, though he said those are likely to change today. Dr. Marquez says they are expecting greater clarification in what constitutes a long-term care facility, and a loosening up of a priority to allow for critical infrastructure workers to be tested.

As for wearing masks in public, Dr. Marquez says current guidance is to use a cloth mask if social distancing is not possible. A cloth mask saves the medical-grade masks for those on the front line. It also serves not just to protect oneself from the disease, but others around you. Dr. Marquez says this helps because there is likely a subset of people who are spreading the disease before they show symptoms or are asymptomatic.

He reminds that it is critical to stay home when possible and wash your hands.

While there is speculation that cases in other hard-hit states like New York and Washington may be plateauing, Dr. Marquez says there is still a delay in testing, and with that data still behind us it is hard to know for sure how we are doing in Michigan. When we do eventually turn the corner, though, he says it will still be super important to aggressively follow the recommendations from the governor, county, and public health professionals. This will help avoid another peak or crop of cases.