Chippewa County Health Department opposes voluntary quarantine for close contact in schools

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisconsin (WEAU) – Angela Weideman, director and health officer in the Chippewa County Department of Public Health, provided an update on COVID-19 cases, vaccines and testing during the COVID situation report -19 from the health department Thursday morning.

Chippewa County is at a seven-day average of 59.4 new COVID-19 cases, roughly at levels last seen in December. The percentage of positive cases this week is 262 out of 618 tests as of Wednesday, or 42.4%. Last week, Chippewa County added 360 confirmed positive cases and a 7-day percentage positive score of 33.7%. Of the 818 active cases of COVID-19, 33.7% are children (276), of which 30.4% of all cases are children aged 4 to 18. 10 people are currently hospitalized in Chippewa County with COVID-19, but none of them are children. More metrics are available on the Chippewa County COVID-19 data dashboard.

Chippewa County’s workload and spread of COVID-19 places the county in the severe risk category for COVID-19, which means the county health department’s recommendation is to limit indoor gatherings to less than 15 people and outdoor gatherings less than 50 people with distancing. Masks are also recommended indoors, including in K-12 schools. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services said on Wednesday that Chippewa County was experiencing extremely high COVID-19 case activity with a burden of more than 1,192 cases per 100,000 population. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention places Chippewa County in the highest category for COVID-19 transmission, high, along with all other counties in Wisconsin.

In Chippewa County, 33,800 residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, or 52.3%. 32,209 residents, or 49.8%, have completed their vaccination series. 509 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered to residents of Chippewa County last week, and so far this week 153 doses have been administered. 87.3% of residents of Chippewa County aged 65 and over are fully immunized.

Weideman provided updates on national studies for vaccine boosters and for emergency use authorization for children aged 11 and under, and noted that it may be several weeks before that vaccines be available for children under 12 years of age.

Weideman said she did not support decisions by the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District and New Auburn School District to make quarantine optional for students identified as close contacts. Weideman cited data showing that masking as well as other COVID-19 mitigation strategies, including vaccination, show lower rates of the spread of COVID-19 in schools with mask warrants compared to those without.

“It is of great concern to me that a parent can decide whether or not their child was in close contact,” Weideman said, adding that schools were making various decisions regarding mitigating the spread of COVID-19, including including voluntary quarantine. Weideman said the two districts contacted the health department before making the decisions, and said she told both districts she disagreed with them. This is because close contacts can be asymptomatic for several days after exposure.

The health department is also reporting one additional death from COVID-19 in which a fully vaccinated person has died in the county. A total of three fully vaccinated people have died of the 109 deaths from COVID-19 in the county during the pandemic, including two last week.

Chippewa County hosts weekly COVID-19 vaccination clinics at the courthouse on Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Pfizer vaccine is not offered by the Chippewa County DPH in its clinics. If a person wants to receive the Pfizer vaccine, which is also cleared for emergency use for people ages 12 to 15 and fully approved for people ages 16 and older, they can call the Department of Public Health. County of Chippewa at 715-492-3096 or visit DPH’s COVID-19 Response Center to find other vaccinators in the county to find a Pfizer vaccine. Anyone under the age of 18 will need parental consent to schedule and receive a vaccine.

A vaccination clinic will be held at the Stanley Public Library in Stanley, Wisconsin on Monday, October 4 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will provide Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The first 15 people to receive a vaccine at this clinic will receive a $ 15 Kwik Trip gift card.

CDC data dashboards are available on the CDC Data Tracking website. DHS also has a COVID-19 data dashboard for Wisconsin on its website.

Thursday’s COVID-19 situation report is the first update on COVID-19 in Chippewa County since September 23 and is now weekly until further notice. More COVID-19 information for Chippewa County can be found on the CCDPH website.

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