County health department urges residents to be safe

After a second straight week with more than 85 new COVID-19 cases, the Trempealeau County Health Department is urging county residents to be aware of their activities and to take precautions.

“We continue to see people engaging in high-risk activities frequently, as if COVID-19 doesn’t exist,” Kaila Baer, TCHD information officer, said. “People gather with friends at someone’s house and then five days later go to a bar or restaurant. Then, several days later go to a wedding or party, all while working or going to school too. That’s a lot of potential exposures in a short amount of time.”

While the total number of new cases fell short of the record 98 two weeks ago, the county still saw 88 new cases, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Service and set a new record with the percentage of people testing positive at 28 percent.

Knowing that eliminating social gatherings isn’t possible, the county health department is asking residents to avoid non-essential activities if they were in high-risk situations, such as attending taverns, restaurants or group gatherings.

“If you didn’t physical distance and wear a mask, we urge you to avoid non-essential activities for the next 14 days,” Baer said. “If you stay home and just do essential things like work, school, grocery shopping, then you will be less likely to spread it to others. We know that people are going to gather with others; so when you do, consider your actions for the next two weeks to protect your family and friends.”

The reason, Baer says, taverns, restaurants and other social gatherings have higher risks of spread is because of the length of time people are within close contact of one another.

“At a party, tavern, etc. you are usually there for a long period of time,” Baer said. “You are usually standing or sitting within six-feet of others for 15 minutes or more. And, typically, you are not wearing a mask because you are eating or drinking.”

Comparatively, Baer said that while close contact can occur at convenience or grocery stores, it isn’t typically for a long period of time and not between the same people for 15 minutes or more. She added that masks are typically required at those places, making the spread less likely.

Late Monday night, the Independence School District announced it would be switching to remote learning for the rest of the week.

At 9:30 p.m. Monday, the district sent out a call to parents and put out a social media post stating that their “staffing changed significantly, which drastically affects our ability to operate the school with in-person learning.” With that, the building was closed through Friday of this week with plans to re-open on Monday. Independence is the third district to close in the last three weeks, joining the Arcadia district and Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School.

Of the new cases, the county reported eight amongst school-aged (five to 19) residents. 

Of the county’s first 669 cases, the health department reported that 47.4 percent were people between the ages of 20 and 40 and 72 percent were people between the ages of 20 and 60.

According to the DHS, the new cases last week were spread throughout the county with 16 being in the Trempealeau area, 13 in Galesville, 12 in Arcadia and Eleva/Strum, 10 in Osseo and Whitehall, five in both the Blair and Independence areas. Arcadia has had the most total cases with 245.

As of late last week, the health department listed 157 active cases, 20 percent of which were in Arcadia while Osseo had 14.1 percent; Trempealeau, 12.4; Galesville, 11.2; Whitehall, 10; Blair 8.8; Ettrick 7.1; Independence, 6.5; Strum, 4.7; Eleva, 4.1 and both Pigeon Falls and Dodge had less than one percent of the active cases.