by Kevin Zimmermann
SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) – Sheboygan County is well-prepared to handle all patients needing hospitalization without resorting to crisis standards in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and has shown that it’s able to interview every positive test case within 24-hours of receiving results as well as interviewing contacts of that person within 48 hours. The ability to test as many as needed and the availability of PPE to protect health care workers is questionable, and concern exists about both the downward trajectory of positive COVID-19 test results in the state, and the activity level in Sheboygan County as reported by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The state metrics list both Sheboygan County’s burden and activity level metrics as “High.” As a result, the Sheboygan County Safe Restart Program will remain in Phase-2, as it has been since June 5th.
Nine county residents are now hospitalized with COVID-19, up one from Thursday and the third consecutive day of increase. The 9 are among 84 cases now active in the county, a net change of zero, since 22 new cases were offset by 22 recoveries since Thursday. With 463 tests returned, the positive rate is 4.75%.
Within the state boundaries, 826 of the 10,570 test returns received since Thursday were positive, upping the confirmed case count to 69,059 and yielding a positive test rate of 7.8%. That places the 7–day average trend at 7.6%, a slight decline since Thursday. One more person has died, meaning that 1,068 persons have succumbed to the disease. 36 more persons were hospitalized in the last 24-hours. With 5,505 hospitalizations so far, that percentage of all cases is 8%. 120 of the 367 current patients occupy Intensive Care Units, and 384 are on ventilators.
The Sheboygan County Division of Public Health said that it continues to work with Sheboygan County Schools to assist them with decision making for school reopening in the fall semester. In the absence of overall WI State DHS decision-making guidance, Sheboygan County Division of Public Health developed Decision Making Criteria for schools to use as one tool to consider in developing their plans for reopening. Links are provided as part of the daily COVID-19 updates posted at sheboygancounty.com
The County DPH also announced that beginning next Friday, August 28th, it will provide weekly status updates along with Safe ReStart Benchmarks to indicate local school risk levels.
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