by Kevin Zimmermann
SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) – 209 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Sheboygan County as of today’s update from the County Division of Health Services. The numbers released today reflect the incoming cases, recoveries and reported negatives since Friday because the releases are now Monday through Friday only, thus incorporating weekend numbers with the Monday reports. 13 cases are active, but none are hospitalized. 3 more persons have recovered from the disease. 257 more persons have tested negative, yielding a positive return rate here of 4.8%.
By age group, those 80 and over comprise only 10 of the confirmed cases. Ages 0-19 number 21, 60 to 79-year-olds came down with 44 of the cases, 60 persons were between the ages of 40 and 59, and 74 cases – or about 35% – were from 20 to 39 years old.
In Wisconsin, 539 cases were added Saturday, 457 on Sunday and another 315 today, raising the total confirmed instances of COVID-19 to 28,058. 777 persons in Wisconsin have died of the disease. Were the metrics of the Badger Bounceback to be considered, hospital capacity, ability to treat all patients without crisis standards of care, and numbers of healthcare workers coming down with the coronavirus are all satisfactory, while the trajectories of both flu-like illnesses and COVID-19-like illnesses, as well as the trajectory of the percent of returns coming up positive are all failing to meet standards.
By all measures, the Coronavirus Pandemic is not abating, and County Board Chairman Vernon Koch and County Administrator Adam Payne on Friday strongly advised against holding large gatherings. Health and Human Services Director Matt Strittmatter added, “We’ve just surpassed the 100-day mark of responding to this pandemic, and although we have done a remarkable job, this is not the point to ease up,” continuing: “Now more than ever is the time to keep strong in our efforts to stop the spread.”
Those efforts include avoiding mass gatherings, wearing masks and practicing social distancing when in public, washing hands frequently, avoid touching the face and stay at home when possible. Those steps, they note, are difficult if not impossible to accomplish in a mass-gathering setting, and such gatherings are neither safe nor recommended. There is no projected timeframe available as to when this advisory would change.
