Chippewa County recommends limited public meetings; COVID-19 risk level in “severe”

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisconsin (WEAU) – Angela Weideman, director and health manager of the Chippewa County Department of Public Health, provided up-to-date information on COVID-19 cases, vaccines and testing during the department’s COVID-19 status report. health Thursday at 11 a.m. You can see it here.

The number of cases and the spread of Chippewa County COVID-19 has moved the county into the severe risk category for COVID-19, which means the county health department’s recommendation is to limit meetings to less than 15 people and outdoor meetings for less than 50 people. physical distancing. Masks are also recommended indoors, including K-12 schools.

Weideman shared the latest advances in COVID-19 vaccines, noting that the Pfizer vaccine is already fully approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration for people over 16 years of age. In addition, Weideman shared that Wisconsin is offering a $ 100 incentive to get vaccinated through Sept. 6. The health department calls for vaccinations and supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance for third-dose vaccinations for certain immunocompromised individuals.

Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District, the largest school district in Chippewa County, wrote in a letter to families this week that masks would remain optional for students, though the district would provide other COVID mitigation measures. 19.

As of Tuesday, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services says Chippewa County is experiencing very high COVID-19 case activity with a case load of more than 450 cases per 100,000 residents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has Chippewa County in the highest transmission category of COVID-19, along with Eau Claire and most other Wisconsin counties.

Chippewa County holds weekly COVID-19 vaccination clinics in the courthouse on Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. This clinic offers Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, which are currently authorized for emergency use for people over 18 years of age. Weideman said that if a person wants to receive the Pfizer vaccine, which is also authorized for emergency use for people 12 to 15 years old and is fully approved for people 16 or older, you can call the Department of Health Chippewa County Public at 715-492 3096 to organize a Pfizer vaccine. Anyone under the age of 18 will need parental consent to schedule and receive a vaccine.

DHS said Wednesday that 49.4% of Chippewa County residents had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 46.8% of residents had completed the series of vaccinations. Among adults, 60.2% of Chippewa County residents received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 57.4% had completed their vaccine series.

CDC data boards are available on the CDC data tracking website. DHS also has a COVID-19 data board for Wisconsin on its website.

Thursday’s COVID-19 status report is the first COVID-19 update in Chippewa County since August 5th. You can find more information about COVID-19 for Chippewa County on the CCDPH website.

Copyright 2021 WEAU. All rights reserved.