Coronavirus Cases Reach Highest Level Since Fall Of 2020 In St. Croix County

Hudson WI

24 November, 2021

7:40 PM

Description

Press release from the St. Croix County Government: November 22, 2021 St. Croix County is experiencing an alarming rise in cases of COVID-19. St. Croix County Public Health recorded 1,576 cases of COVID-19 in the County in the first 17 days of November. This is the highest level of cases we have seen since COVID-19 reached its peak in the County back in November of 2020. Table 1-Total Positive COVID-19 Cases by Month in St. Croix County As of November 15, 2021, St. Croix County had the 3rd highest level of community transmission of all Counties in the state of Wisconsin. Our current level of community transmission is listed as high, which is the highest level on the CDC's COVID Data Tracker. A high-level means that there is greater than or equal to 100 new cases per 100,000 people in the last 7 days. Using this calculation, St. Croix County has a higher level of community transmission than the states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Table 2- Comparison of the level of community spread in St. Croix County Wisconsin and midwestern states. With this surge in cases, local hospitals have been experiencing critically low bed capacity. According to Public Health data available on the St. Croix County COVID-19 Dashboard, 31 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19 in western Wisconsin hospitals as of November 17. As of this date, there are 0 to 4 in-patient beds available in western Wisconsin hospitals and under 2% availability for adult ICU beds in the Twin Cities Metro hospitals. This impacts not only people seeking care for COVID-19 but also people seeking care for other health emergencies. We are at a critical point in fighting this pandemic and we need everyone to take this seriously for the health of our community. Recent data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) in October shows that a fully vaccinated person was 5 times less likely to be infected, 11 times less likely to need a hospital bed, and 15 times less likely to die than a person who was partially or never vaccinated. As of November 17, only 55.1% of St. Croix County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective against COVID-19. As more people get vaccinated for COVID-19 and follow the recommendations from Public Health, there is less risk of COVID-19 spreading, of future and more harmful variants forming, and of people in our community experiencing preventable health issues and loss of life. If you have questions or concerns about COVID-19 vaccines, we encourage you to talk with a doctor. With the upcoming holidays it is important that we all take the proper precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. To help keep our community safe, we ask that you: Get vaccinated Get a COVID-19 booster shot when eligible Wear a mask Practice physical distancing Stay home when you are sick If your children are sick, do not send them to school Wash your hands frequently And get tested if you have symptoms or are a close contact November 22 is Public Health Thank You Day. We want to thank all public health professionals for their dedication to protecting their communities. The best way to give thanks, is to follow the advice from Public Health to protect us all. Visit the our COVID-19 section to track COVID-19 cases in St. Croix County, for more information on COVID-19, how to get your vaccine, where to get tested, and more: sccwi.gov/COVID19 This press release was produced by the St. Croix County Government. The views expressed here are the author's own.