CSi Weather…

Forecast….

.TONIGHT…Partly cloudy. Scattered rain showers and snow showers in the evening, then scattered snow showers after midnight. Lows in the mid 20s. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 35 mph. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

.THURSDAY…Mostly sunny. Isolated snow showers in the morning.

Highs 35 to 40. Windy. Northwest winds 20 to 30 mph. Chance of

snow 20 percent.

.THURSDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 20s. West winds

5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph in the evening.

.FRIDAY…Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 40s.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Lows 30 to 35.

.SATURDAY…Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of light rain. Highs in

the mid 40s.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of light rain and

snow. Lows in the mid 20s.

.SUNDAY…Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 30s.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Lows 15 to 20.

.MONDAY…Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 30s.

.MONDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Lows 15 to 20.

.TUESDAY…Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 30s.

.TUESDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Lows 15 to 20.

.WEDNESDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs 35 to 40.

 

Jamestown  (CSi)  The Jamestown City Fire Department was called to Edgewood Senior Living Center in Southwest Jamestown at 12:56-p.m., Wednesday.

Lt. Sheldon Mohr says, the cause of the fire was a failed light fixture, that caused moderate smoke damage.  Residents, and staff were evacuated for about an hour.

No reports of injuries, to firefighters.  An employee was treated at JRMC for smoke inhalation, and released.

Five city fire units and 22 fire fighters were on the scene for an hour.

Jamestown  (CVHD) – Stutsman County’s first positive case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been identified.  Central Valley Health District is working under the direction of the North Dakota Department of Health to identify people who have been in close contact with the affected individual.

According to Central Valley Health District Unit Administrator – Robin Iszler, “the public health department is following up with the infected person and is conducting an interview process to determine the individual’s close contacts.  We will reach out to those close contact individually and provide them with information and next steps.”

 

Robin Iszler, urges local residents to be prepared, but not panic.  “The community does not need to panic.  We need to continue practicing social distancing and monitoring symptoms for illness.”

 

Currently there is no vaccine to prevent COVID-19. The best way to prevent being infected with the virus is to avoid exposure. As a community, we need to do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19. In order to do this, we ask you to do the following:

  • practice social distance
  • contact your healthcare provider if you are sick
  • practice good hygiene; wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, avoid touching your face, sneeze or cough into a tissue or the inside of your elbow
  • disinfect frequently used items and surfaces

 

For questions related to COVID-19, the public can call the North Dakota Department of Health hotline at 866-207-2880 from 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., 7 days/week or Central Valley Health District at 701-252-8130, 8:00 a.m. –  3:30 p.m., Monday – Friday.  Central Valley Health will be closed this Friday, April 10, for the Good Friday Holiday.  Individuals experiencing a fever and symptoms, such as cough or difficulty breathing; call your healthcare provider prior to going to the healthcare facility.

 

Jamestown  (NDD0H)  The North Dakota State Hospital in Jamestown is ramping up its COVID-19 preparedness efforts while maintaining specialized inpatient and residential care to individuals with severe, complex and persistent mental illnesses and substance use disorders.

State Hospital Superintendent Dr. Rosalie Etherington says,   “Our team members are working diligently to ensure that all patients continue to receive the appropriate and necessary behavioral health services needed to facilitate recovery.  We have been focusing on our COVID-19 preparedness efforts, and if any state hospital patients were to test positive, plans are in place to respond quickly.”

She said the state hospital created a unit to screen new patient admissions and to provide care should any patients test positive for COVID-19 but do not require regular medical or hospital services. Other emergency plans are in place to expand inpatient bed availability to meet needs.

The state hospital has the necessary personal protective gear and cleaning and disinfectant supplies on hand and meets safety standards as recommended by the North Dakota Department of Health. The hospital’s emergency management team is also collaborating regularly with state and local partners on COVID-19 emergency preparedness planning.

She adds, “We are taking every measure we can to protect our entire campus from the spread of the coronavirus. We are limiting group therapy sizes, modifying treatment settings, practicing social distancing, monitoring handwashing activities, screening all patients and staff for signs or symptoms and implementing other safety precautions as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

A visitor restriction policy remains in place. It will be reviewed later this month for possible extension for another 30 days. Patients can continue to communicate with friends and family by phone, computers and other electronic devices.

She adds, “There is a tremendous team working around the clock at the North Dakota State Hospital during this uncertain time.  I am extremely grateful to each employee for their continued commitment to their work, the people we serve and to the community.”

For more information on the North Dakota Department of Human Services response to COVID-19, visit www.nd.gov/dhs/info/covid19/index.html. For details about the state’s COVID-19 response, visit www.ndresponse.gov.

Bismarck  (CSi)  Governor Doug Burgum held his daily News Briefing at the state capital, Wednesday afternoon., with and Bank of North Dakota President and CEO Eric Hardmeyer to provide an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in North Dakota.

Burgum said, the latest COVID-19 report issued Wednesday morning, including a positive test of a woman in her 60’s from Stutsman County.

14 Additional positive cases were reported, Wednesday morning from Tuesday.  The pool of people tested included the drive thru last weekend in western North Dakota.

Positive COVID-19 Test Results
Results listed are from the previous day.

POSITIVE TEST RESULTS

  • Woman in her 30s from Burleigh County, under investigation
  • Female age 10-19 from Burleigh County, close contact
  • Woman in her 20s from Burleigh County, community spread
  • Man in his 40s from Cass County, community spread
  • Man in his 30s from Cass County, close contact
  • Woman in her 30s from Cass County, community spread
  • Man in his 40s from Cass County, community spread
  • Woman in her 90s from Cass County, close contact
  • Man in his 60s from Cass County, close contact
  • Woman in her 60s from Cass county, under investigation
  • Female age 10-19 from Stark County, community spread
  • Woman in her 60s from Stark County, community spread
  • Male age 10-19 from Stark County, under investigation
  • Woman in her 60s from Stutsman County, community spread

 

Categories: Travel, Possible Travel, Community Spread, Close Contact, Under Investigation

 

Updated

BY THE NUMBERS

8552 – Total Tested (+849 individuals from yesterday)

8301 – Negative (+835 individuals from yesterday)

251 – Positive (+14 individuals from yesterday)

34 – Hospitalized (+1 individuals from yesterday)

16 – Currently Hospitalized (-2 individuals from yesterday)

98 – Recovered (+16 individual from yesterday)

4 – Death (+0 individuals from yesterday)

For descriptions of these categories, visit the NDDoH dashboard.

 

For the most updated and timely information and updates related to COVID-19, visit the NDDoH website at www.health.nd.gov/coronavirus, follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and visit the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.

He said continue to use sanitary measures, and observe social distancing, and wear face masks in public.  Limit gathering to people of no more than ten.

2600 critical care hospital beds are available.

An Executive Order concerns the Public Service Commission, and the State Land Commission suspends needing to have a physical location for public hearings and can now be held virtually.

Another Executive Order allow exchanges pf Personal Protective Equipment and medical equipment to the State Health Department, directly, and bypassing the state’s used equipment location.  He added more hand sanitizer is becoming available in the state, through regional producers.

The amended travel quarantine now allows workers in North Dakota and Minnesota to cross the border, including those in essential services and outdoor activities.  Social distancing when in outdoor activities.  The travel quarantine for people coming into North Dakota  from other states still applies, with a 14 day quarantine.

Bank of North Dakota President &CEO Eric Hardmeyer talked about financing, said take advantage to federal programs available  to assist local small businesses.

He said the Bank of North Dakota will assist local banks in delivering federal dollars for distribution.

Burgum said the North Dakota Department of Commerce will host another Business Briefing, at 11-a.m., Thursday, accessible on line at NDChamber.com

Burgum added with the Easter Holiday approaching he asks families to plan ahead and create ways to limit physical connecting with others, with various on line services, and church services, and Skype and other ways to connect with family members.

With unemployment, on Tuesday there were 1844 claims filed, bringing the total to 42,362 from March 16 through Tuesday.

Valley City  (CSi)  The  City of Valley City  hosted local government, and Public Health for a COVID-19 Briefing on Wednesday, April 8.

Each organization provided updates and information pertaining to recent developments in the COVID-19 response.

The briefing was closed the public to honor social distancing.

City-County Health District Administrator, Theresa Will said, the briefing is to give information on the collaboration of agencies, and entities, in the local response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said City-County Health workers are trained in contact tracing, of a person who has rested positive, with their close contacts, over the prior 14 days.  The guidelines follow the State Health Department.  Fit testing of face masks has been accomplished with 200 healthcare workers. City/County Health is accepting donations of masks to distribute.

She said as of 5-p.m. Barnes County has performed  59 COVID-19 tests.  Contact local healthcare providers by phone, before visiting them for healthcare needs.  She said local hospitals have beds available at this time for critical care needs in the event of a COVID-19 surge.   Hospitals have a no visitor policy, with the exception of patients at end of life.

Essentia Health will be testing ‘in house’ by later this week, without needing to send the tests to the state lab for results.  She urges observing social distancing, and frequent hand washing with soap and water, and not touch your face.  She said to attend church services, remotely, and arrange for gatherings on line through Skype, Zoom or other programs.

Barnes County Emergency Manager Sue Lloyd, said, on March, 20, 2020 the Barnes County Commission approved a state of emergency in the county, to access funds and resources.

A joint Emergency Operations Center has been established to share information among agencies to pass along to the public.

On the flooding update, she said the Sheyenne River in Valley crested Wednesday morning at 14.4 feet, expected to be steady the next week. Baldhill Dam level wasat 1263.5 feet.  The water outflow release on Wednesday was between 2900 and 3000 cfs. Some pumps have been installed in town to relieve pressure on the sewer system.

Valley City Mayor, Dave Carlsrud, said, next Wednesday April 15, 2020 another COVID-19 Briefing will be held at 5:30-p.m.

He said with the COVID-19 virus awareness, to not travel to Cass County where the positive cases are the highest in the state.   He urges social distancing, and hand washing.

He added that social distancing is a good rule to be adhered to, along with using common sense,  will lessen the needs for a lockdown in Valley City.

He reminded citizens to fill out and return, the census form, and beware of scammers who ask for money in connection with utilizing the census form.  He said to respect others during this time, and spend time with friends and family on line.

Bill Carlblom – Barnes County Commission Chairman, Bill Carlblom said, at the county level, the courthouse is closed to walk-ins.  With voting in the Jun 9 elections, voting will be done by mail-in ballot only, with no physical location, with drop boxes to be available.  He added a good number of county roads that are washed out, or water covered.  He urges motorists to observe barricades, and report to the county any areas that need to be barricaded.

He said during Friday’s the courthouse is not occupied, with staff working from home. Other days, the staff can be reached at the courthouse by phone, or on line.

The meeting was shown live on CSi Cable 68.  Members of the public can view the replay on CSi Cable 68 and CSi TV 10 – The Replay Channel.

 

Jamestown  (City of Jamestown) – Jamestown Public Works informs motorists of  a road closure beginning Thursday April 9, 2020, beginning at 7-am through April 10  for storm sewer replacement.

The area is 7th Ave NW between 4th St NW and 5th St NW.

Motorist’s should use extreme caution in this area. The schedule is contingent upon weather conditions.

For more information, contact the Engineering department at 252-5900 or email engineering@jamestownnd.gov

Jamestown  (Chamber) Members of the Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Committee and the Young Professionals of Jamestown presented the Customer Service Award for March to Thelma Gackle of Servicemaster for her outstanding customer service.  The chamber honors individuals who demonstrate a consistent commitment to delivering products or services that satisfy customers by exceeding their requirements or expectations.

 

Her nomination said, “Thelma has been cleaning my employer’s building for years. She consistently goes above and beyond to ensure that we are taken care of as a client of Service Master but she also cares about us as people. She makes sure to wish all of our team members Happy Birthday and helps us celebrate other milestones such as additions to our families and promotions of our team members. She will even go out of her way to cook us new meals to try from her culture and shares her apples and garden vegetables with us every year! We couldn’t ask for a better friend than Thelma to keep us in line and keep our bank looking clean!”

 

Congratulations to Thelma, who along with all the other monthly winners, will be recognized at the Chamber’s annual banquet in January 2021.  Customer Service Award nomination forms are available at the Chamber office and on their website at www.jamestownchamber.com or call 701-252-4830.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — While most governors have imposed stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of the coronavirus, leaders of a handful of states have rejected such action. Nine Republican governors have refused to mandate that people stay at home. Local leaders have taken action in some of those states. North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Arkansas are the only states where no one is under a stay-at-home order. The lack of action from those governors has frustrated health experts and left some residents puzzled. An infectious disease expert at the University of California-Berkeley says the longer officials wait, the harder it is for such orders to have a substantial impact on the virus’ spread.

 

In world and national news…

NEW YORK (AP) — Even as coronavirus deaths continue to mount across Europe, New York and other hot spots, governments are beginning to envision an exit strategy and contemplating a staggered and carefully calibrated relaxation of the restrictions designed to curb the scourge. At the same time, politicians and public health officials emphatically warn that while deaths, hospitalizations and new infections may be leveling off in some places, the crisis is far from over. They say a catastrophic second wave could hit if countries let their guard down too soon.

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials around the world are pushing to get more ventilators to treat coronavirus patients, but some doctors actually are moving away from using the machines. The reason is that some hospitals have reported unusually high death rates for coronavirus patients on ventilators. Also, some doctors worry that the machines could be harming certain patients. Generally speaking, 40% to 50% of patients with severe respiratory distress die while on ventilators. But as many as 85% of the coronavirus patients placed on the machines within New York City’s public hospital system have died.

 

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says the city’s death toll from the coronavirus has been disproportionately high in black and Hispanic communities. He said Wednesday that preliminary data indicates that black people account for 28% of the city’s COVID-19 death toll though they are just 22% of the city’s population. He says Hispanic people are 34% of the city’s virus death toll and 29% of its population. Statewide, New York coronavirus deaths rose by 779, a record number for a second consecutive day. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the hospitalization rate is decreasing, meaning the overburdened system could stabilize over the coming weeks if trends continue.

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks Wednesday were up 3% on Wall Street as investors focus on the optimistic side of data about the coronavirus outbreak’s trajectory. The gains accelerated through Wednesday after the top U.S. infectious diseases expert said the White House is working on plans to eventually reopen the country and President Donald Trump said it “will be sooner rather than later.” Stocks got another boost after investors said minutes from the last meeting of the Federal Reserve confirmed the central bank will do whatever it takes to support markets. The S&P 500 had a similarly big jump the day before, though, only for it to evaporate in the afternoon.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The next potential coronavirus aid package is taking shape as President Donald Trump seeks $250 billion for small businesses and Democrats propose adding another $250 billion for small communities, protective gear and food stamps. The question now is whether Congress and the White House can agree to it. Vice President Mike Pence was convening private conference calls Wednesday with House Republicans and Democrats as all sides appear to agree that more aid is needed. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants to rush Trump’s request for small business aid to a vote. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer want to add hundreds of billions of dollars for health care, state and local governments, and food stamps. A test vote is expected Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bernie Sanders, who saw his once strong lead in the Democratic primary evaporate as the party’s establishment lined swiftly up behind rival Joe Biden, has ended his presidential bid. His announcement Wednesday leaves former Vice President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee to challenge President Donald Trump in November. The 78-year-old Sanders began his latest White House bid facing questions about whether he could win back the supporters who chose him four years ago as an insurgent alternative to the party establishment’s choice. Sanders used strong polling and solid fundraising — collected almost entirely from small donations made online — to more than quiet early doubters.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are wrestling over how best to assail President Donald Trump for how he’s handling the coronavirus pandemic and the economy’s shutdown. Their debate comes as the country enters an unpredictable campaign season against the backdrop of the most devastating crisis in decades. They’re struggling to overcome the attention-demanding bully pulpit that all presidents have. They’re also trying to balance a desire to attack Trump now with holding off until voters aren’t completely focused on their own health and well-being. But that might waste valuable time and risk giving Trump time to define himself as a wartime president.