This is this week's COVID-19 report from Superintendent Joe Zydowsky. Also, according to a recent Twitter message from Zydowsky, an important part of the district's network infrastructure has failed this morning, so much of the district's networking will be not working until it can be replaced, probably sometime tomorrow.

Hello SDMA Families and Staff.

This update includes a lot of important information, so please be patient with the length of this message.

When the coronavirus started spreading around Wisconsin in the spring of 2020, Dr. Chad Tamez hosted Facebook Live sessions to help patients understand what was initially a mysterious new pathogen. A family physician who co-owns a private practice in West Bend, Tamez seized on the power of social media to discuss new medical findings about the coronavirus.

Who:

• Governor Tony Evers
• Secretary-designee Andrea Palm, Wisconsin Department of Health Services 
• Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Chief Medical Officer for the DHS Bureau of Communicable Diseases
• Ryan Nilsestuen, Chief Legal Counsel, Office of the Governor
• Deb Standridge, Chief Executive Officer of the Alternate Care Facility at State Fair Park. 

When: Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 1:30 p.m

On the surface, the COVID-19 statistics for the last few days paint a really confusing picture. This graph is perhaps the most difficult example (percentage of tests that are positive by day). The world has not gone topsy-turvy but is mostly a side-effect of the upgrade that the state did over the weekend to the WEDSS system. This is the system the state uses to collect COVID-19 and other data from local public health offices.

Halloween is typically a time we enjoy spooky things. We find ways to get scared, whether it’s a haunted corn maze or horror flick.  This year, however, it seems like we’re living in a scary movie with no clear happy ending in sight. What’s even scarier is we don’t have the leadership to help us through this horrific time.

This week's update and information about how COVID is spreading in the county.

In today's media briefing Governor Evers talks about funding for broadband as part of recovering from the pandemic. More information on the broadband grants is included below. The press conference also covers the dangerous state of hospital bed availability in the state and the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases.

Who:

A large portion of these meetings was involved with an attempt to hear the citizens about, and to try to pass an ordinance about health emergencies and the Health Department. As in Menomonie, after citizen testimony and a discussion, the ordinance was kicked down the road.

Thanks to Valley Media Works for the recording.

This media briefing is a Q&A session on the Alternate Care Facility.

Who:

• Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk, Wisconsin Department of Health Services 
• Deb Standridge, CEO of the Wisconsin State Fair Park Alternate Care Facility

When: Wednesday, October 14, 2020 at 2:00 p.m.  ** Note time change               

This morning Sawyer County Circuit Judge John Yackel placed a temporary order to stop the enforcement of the state order limiting the size of indoor businesses to 25% if capacity. The order was in response to a lawsuit brought by the Wisconsin Tavern League. In a statement yesterday League President Chris Marsicano stated the order by DHS Secretary-Designee Andrea Palm was "invalid and unenforceable" and businesses cannot survive a 75% cut in customers."