COVID cases exceed TCHD limits as new record set

As a new record for new COVID-19 cases was set last week, the Trempealeau County Health Department is stretched beyond its tracing limits.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported 611 new COVID-19 cases in Trempealeau County, smashing the previous record of 460 set in November of 2020.

On Monday, the health department sent a press release stating it was beyond its contact tracing capacity. As of last Friday, the county’s seven-day rolling case rate was 202.4 with 530 active lab confirmed COVID-19 positive cases in Trempealeau County. Those numbers did not include 277 cases the DHS reported on Monday of this week. The release said the state of Wisconsin, and Trempealeau County, are seeing the highest numbers of cases in the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Of the cases reported last week, 213 were residents of the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau School District. There were 100 new cases amongst residents of the Arcadia district, 90 in Eleva-Strum; 89 in Osseo-Fairchild; 76 in Whitehall; 65 in Blair-Taylor and 54 in Independence. 

The release sent by the health department said public health operations have changed due to the surge in cases, and the health department is working under crisis standards of practice.  That means they are unable to call all positive cases or their close contacts. Due to the surge in cases, they are asking all people who test positive to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Those who test positive should start by staying home and isolating themselves from others in their households. Then, identify their close contacts during your infectious period. The health department is asking people who have tested positive to inform their close contacts. 

All close contacts should follow guidance from the CDC in regards to quarantine following last date of close contact to the positive person. 

The health department’s release said receiving COVID-19 vaccine and booster shot when eligible remains the best practice to prevent severe illness,  hospitalizations, and deaths due to COVID-19. 

Other mitigation strategies that remain important include physical  distancing of at least six feet, avoid in person gatherings when physical distancing cannot be maintained, wear a well-fitted  mask when around others whom you do not live with, stay home if you are sick.  

While a record for new cases was set, neither the DHS nor the health department reported any more deaths last week and, as of Friday, three people were hospitalized.