HOLLLND (WHTC-AM/FM) — With the death of former Hope College President Gordon Van Wylen, 100, on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, from COVID-19, Ottawa County has reached a death toll of 84 people since mid-March.
County health officials noted 2,913 people ill with the virus as of Nov. 5 — and the uptick in numbers is expected to continue, as predicted by health officials across the U.S. months ago. Flu-and-cold season is well underway, as colder weather causes people to spend more times indoors.
In Allegan County, where 908 people have now been diagnosed with COVID-19, eight people have died.
Holland Hospital has 31 patients admitted with COVID-19 as the primary cause. Some are getting medications dubbed “the president’s cocktail,” described by Science Magazine as a course of an antiviral drug, remdesivir, followed by a course of steroids.
Spectrum Health records online show 217 patients whose primary reason for admission is COVID-19 — more than double than when infections spiked in May.
In Allegan County where eight people have died from the virus, more than 900 are ill as of Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020 — that’s about double the number of Allegan County residents diagnosed with COVID-19 one week ago.
Free drive-thru COVID-19 tests are set for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020, at the Allegan County Transportation Building, 750 Airway Drive, Allegan.
People don’t need a lab slip or to be a resident of the county to get this test. People under the age of 18 need permission from a parent or guardian.
The next free drive-thru test event in Ottawa County is set for 3 to 7: 30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10 at Zeeland City Fire/Rescue. 29 W. Main Avenue in Zeeland. These tests are free — people without health insurance who need to get a flu shot can do so during Ottawa County’s event.
People getting tested need to provide a photo ID for contact tracing purposes, should they test positive.
Studies show that people who get a flu shot are less likely to contract COVID-19 — and those who do not get the flu shot are more-likely to land in the hospital, including ICU, should they contract the coronavirus. People who get COVID-19 are 10 times more likely to die from it than people who get severely ill with the flu, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.
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