Dane Co., most of southern Wisconsin has now passed the CDC mask guidance threshold

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MADISON, WMTV – A much larger part of southern Wisconsin, including Madison and Dane Co., now falls under federal recommendations that almost everyone – regardless of their immunization status – wears a mask at rallies interiors.

As health officials from Dane Co. predicted on Thursday, the county has moved to a “substantial” level in community transmission of COVID-19, according to measurements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Tuesday, the federal agency asked people living in a county where transmission was considered “substantial” or “high” more severe to wear a mask during public and private indoor events.

Seeing cases on the rise, public health officials at Madison & Dane Co. hadn’t waited for their county to turn orange on the CDC’s map, which indicates a substantial rating, to issue its own updated recommendations. Shortly after the federal guidelines were released earlier this week, the PHMDC sounded the alarm bells about the rate hike and urged people to start hiding indoors immediately.

Federal and local advisories, as well as one released Wednesday by the Department of Health Services, fail to impose a mandate. Instead, their advice remains recommendations, although health officials are urgently doing so. In Tuesday’s statement, PHMDC included a link where companies wishing to impose their own mask requirement can download “masks required” signs.

RISE IN WISCONSIN

Five more counties in southern Wisconsin have been added to the substantial list, causing the entire southeastern part of the state to now fall into one of the two highest categories. The day before, Rock Co. and Dodge Co. turned orange and Janesville health officials issued their own recommendations on wearing masks.

On Friday, the following southern Wisconsin counties were rated substantial or high (top is in bold):

Columbia Co.
Data company
Dodge Co.
Jefferson Co.
Kenosha Co.
Milwaukee Co.
Ozaukee Co.
Racine Cie.
Rock Co.
Sauk Co.
Walworth Co.
Washington Co.
Waukesha Co.

The state’s largest county, Milwaukee, remains ranked high and was joined in that ranking by two of its neighbors, Ozaukee and Waukesha. In addition to these three counties, Buffalo Co., Iron Co., and Pepin Co. were also placed in the high category.

Conversely, in the southwest corner of the state, Grant Co. fell into the low transmission classification. Another county that saw its transmission rate plummet was Adams Co., which went from being considered high Thursday to medium the next day.

The sharp increase in the number of counties falling under CDC mask recommendations reflects the sharp increase in new cases of COVID-19 statewide. The state surpassed 1,000 new cases for the first time in months on Friday, posting the highest single-day total since early February.

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