by Kevin Zimmermann
SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) – The Sheboygan County Division of Public Health has been busy answering a large volume of questions ever since an emergency alert memo was issued on Tuesday. Many of those questioned how the current outbreak of COVID-19 at Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution impacts the Sheboygan County data used to classify alert levels and trigger actions to contain the spread of the disease. County DPH issued a release on Wednesday to explain.
First, an outbreak of KMCI is of general concern since 300 staff members and others work there, potentially bringing the coronavirus with them when they return home, so confinement there doesn’t equate to isolation of the disease.
Others questioned if the 572 ill persons of record Wednesday at KMCI forces Sheboygan County at large into a worse category of COVID infections. In fact, the County DPH says that even after subtracting those numbers from the general population, Sheboygan County is at a “Very High” activity level, and DPH isn’t able to reach even half of those positive cases within the 24-hour target window.
The “Very High” designation results upon reaching or exceeding an average 25 cases a day identified in a 14-day period, or 350 cases per 100,000 persons. Sheboygan County’s daily case count is averaging 34 a day, with 420 cases per 100,000 persons – KMCI excluded.
Comments