IRON MOUNTAIN — A portion of Dickinson County Memorial Hospital is being converted into a quarantined COVID-19 treatment area as the hospital continues to prepare for the possibility of caring for coronavirus patients.

As of Friday, Dickinson County Healthcare System has collected 29 specimens for testing, with results so far showing one positive and 14 negatives. (On Saturday, those figures were updated to show 32 specimens, with one positive, 18 negative, and 13 pending.)

The positive result was for a resident of Marinette County who had a specimen collected by DCHS at an alternate site, and who was sent home to quarantine as a person under investigation, said Joe Rizzo, directory of public relations and business development.

It was not known Friday if the confirmed case is the same one Marinette County Public Health announced late Thursday. Molly Bonjean, Marinette County Public Health officer, said as of Friday afternoon the county was reporting one confirmed case. That person’s all known close contacts have been notified, she said.

The resident had previously had contact with a confirmed case in another county, Marinette County Public Health had stated earlier.

As part of its preparations, DCHS will temporarily relocate its second-floor infusion and chemotherapy infusion

“All patients are being notified of the move in advance and these necessary medical treatments will continue uninterrupted,” Rizzo said.

Before receiving care at Dickinson Memorial, all patients are required to have a health evaluation at one of the four hospital entry checkpoints.

Due to the highly contagious nature of COVID-19, any patients either under investigation or confirmed positive for COVID-19 will not be allowed visitors.

Those who are sick and experiencing serious respiratory problems are advised to call their primary care provider or the DCHS COVID-19 hotline at 906-776-5858.

The Upper Peninsula has four other positive COVID-19 cases so far, one each in Marquette, Chippewa and Luce counties and a death in Gogebic County. The victim in Gogebic County was an elderly man with other underlying health issues, the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department announced late Thursday.

Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-3500 ext. 226 or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.