Another college adds mask requirements, COVID transmission rises in area

Michigan Technological University, Finlandia University, and now Gogebic Community College’s Portage Township location all have mask mandates in effect. Gogebic was the last to announce the policy, with it being enacted this morning. The precautions come as COVID-19 begins to spread in the Western Upper Peninsula again.

Following a trend seen in 2020, the disease was first active widely in the Deep South and American Southwest before migrating into the Midwest. It is now becoming prevalent in the Upper Peninsula. The Western UP Health Department says that Houghton, Baraga, and Keweenaw Counties combined for 39 cases in a week period ending August 11th.

Baraga is listed as experiencing a high level of COVID transmission due to a positivity rate of over 10 percent. That is defined as the number of confirmed cases divided by the total number of tests run. Houghton County is defined as substantial thanks to the case rate adjusted for a population size of 100,000 people.