Rising COVID-19 Cases in Chippewa County; 23% of active cases are children

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 at 11 a.m. You can watch it here.

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.

Weideman said Chippewa County has crossed paths with 50% of residents who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. DHS said on Wednesday that 50.2% of residents in Chippewa County had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and that 47.5% of residents had completed the round of immunizations. Among adults, 61.0% of residents of Chippewa County received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 58.1% had completed their vaccination series. Following the medical care provider’s advice is the best course of action for dealing with COVID-19, Weideman said, especially when it comes to approved treatments for the virus. The FDA and CDC have advised against the use of ivermectin to alleviate symptoms of COVID-19 or prevent capture of the virus.

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise in Chippewa County, Weideman said. In addition to the increase in cases, 10 county residents are currently hospitalized and two people have died from COVID-19 in the county over the past week. 95 to 98% of hospitalizations locally are unvaccinated people, which joins the national figures, Weideman. On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said Chippewa County was experiencing very high COVID-19 case activity with a burden of more than 560 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 most other counties in Wisconsin.

None of the hospitalizations in Chippewa County are children, Weideman said. All Chippewa County schools have been working with the health department on COVID-19 mitigation plans, but a slight increase in cases in August among children has been noticed, and some children are already in quarantine even before the start of classes, Weideman said. More than 23%, or 69 total cases, of active COVID-19 cases in Chippewa County are children aged 18 and under. The county’s largest school district, Chippewa Falls Area United School District, has opted for an optional mask policy, like many smaller districts in the area, but the CFAUSD has also implemented other measures to limit the spread. virus.

Chippewa County hosts weekly COVID-19 vaccination clinics at the courthouse on Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. 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. from Chippewa County at 715-492-3096 to arrange a Pfizer vaccine. Anyone under the age of 18 will need parental consent to schedule and receive a vaccine.

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 August 26 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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