The Dunn County Health Department has confirmed the first death in the county from COVID-19. In a press release this afternoon Health Department Officer KT Gallagher announced that the fatality was an elderly person and that no further information would be released out of respect for the deceased and their loved ones. Gallagher stated that  “Our hearts go out to the family and friends for their loss.

This is the first in a series of articles about public health and COVID-19 from Alexandra Hall, M.D. Dr. Hall is a physician in Student Health Services at UW-Stout where she also teaches in the Biology Department. You can learn more about Dr. Hall at her profile page.

Who:

• Governor Tony Evers
• Secretary-designee Andrea Palm, Wisconsin Department of Health Services 
• Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Chief Medical Officer of the Bureau of Communicable Diseases   
• Ryan Nilsestuen, Chief Legal Counsel, Office of the Governor

When: Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. 

In accordance with the guidelines from the Dunn County Health Department, in-person attendance for the public Board meeting will be limited to 25 people. It is anticipated that there will be 14 spaces available for members of the public. The meeting will also be live-streamed on this page and will go live shortly before 5:30 on Sept. 28.

Today's numbers of COVID-19 cases in the state paint a grim picture. Both the number of new COVID-19 cases and the percentage of tests that were positive have hit new records. 22.39% of the tests reported by DHS were positive, and the raw number of positive cases was 2817. 7 new deaths were reported in today's numbers. 528 are currently in the hospital for COVID, which is also a new record. 

On June 1 the Menomonie Public Library re-opened to public visits. The number of COVID-19 infections in the county has increased greatly in the past few weeks, and as a result the library board has decided to close the library again. This decision was reached in conversation with the Dunn County Public Health Department. 

MADISON​ —​ Gov. Tony Evers today announced that more than $5 million of funding from the federal CARES Act will be awarded for the expansion of high-speed, broadband internet.  Funding will be awarded by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) to applicants from the 2020 broadband expansion grants that did not receive funding and are able to connect customers by December 30, 2020, and satisfy the requirements of the federal CARES Act.

While scrolling through social media recently, I saw someone ask, “Why hasn’t Governor Evers distributed funds from the Heroes Act?” Others jumped all over this comment, claiming the Governor failed because the Heroes Act wasn’t being implemented when it could be.

by Liz Essley Whyte, Center for Public Integrity
September 22, 2020

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