Update -- After a long hearing in which 16 people spoke against the new mask ordinance and 10 spoke against it, the Eau Claire City Council approved the mask ordinance 13-0. 3,195 people responded to a survey put out by the city recently and of those respondents 59% favored the mask mandate and 41% asked to not have it implemented.
As usual, Dunn County Health Administrator KT Gallagher brings you the latest numbers and answers your questions.
There have been 3,876 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Dunn County, and 169 of those are currently active. There have been 26 deaths in the county, and 10 people are currently in the hospital.
The state’s first mobile vaccination teams began operations this week to assist local health department efforts to administer COVID-19 vaccines across Wisconsin.
The teams, which represent a joint effort of state resources and are made up of Citizen Soldiers and Airmen from the Wisconsin National Guard and vaccinators from the University of Wisconsin system, piloted the program Jan. 19 in Greendale.
Hobbs Ice Arena staff have met with the Eau Claire City-County Health Department and, based on current COVID-19 levels and projected trends, have determined that it is possible for Hobbs to enter Phase 2 of re-opening which will include the return of a limited number of spectators for team sports beginning January 21, 2020.
Gov. Tony Evers today signed Executive Order #104 and Emergency Order #1 establishing a new statewide public health emergency and face coverings requirement, respectively, as the state continues to expand vaccination distribution across the state.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced this morning that COVID-19 vaccine will be available for people 65 years and older starting on January 25. The 65 and over residents will be eligible under the new guidelines for Phase 1b of the vaccine rollout in the state.
I spoke to Dunn County Health Administrator KT Gallagher today about the effect of this announcement on Dunn County residents, and how this will all work out.
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Hospitals and clinics across the country are canceling vaccine appointments because the Trump administration tells states how many doses they’ll receive only one week at a time, making it all but impossible to plan a comprehensive vaccination campaign.
The Wisconsin DHS will hold a Vaccine Q&A session today at 1:30 PM. We expect this session to cover information about the new expansion of vaccine availability to all Wisconsin residents over age 65.
Today the state is reporting 42 more deaths due to COVID-19, so DHS is emphasizing again that we need to continue to follow good practices to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) today announced that all Wisconsin residents over the age of 65 will be eligible to receive the vaccine starting on Jan. 25. This is a major change in policy from the formerly proposed plan for phase 1b which was intended to cover people over age 70.
President-elect Joe Biden is continuing to fill out his cabinet appointees, and today announced that he is appointing Wisconsin DHS Secretary-Designee Andrea Palm as Deputy-Secretary of the federal Department of Health Services. Palm will leave the state DHS on Jan. 20.
This is this week's COVID-19 update from Dunn County, with Dunn County Health Administrator KT Gallagher. Every week KT answers your questions and gives you information about the status of the virus (and now administering the vaccine) in Dunn County.
On January 12 the Wisconsin Department of Health Services discovered the presence of a new strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in Wisconsin.
