Richland Center, WI: A virtual Emergency Operations Center meeting was held today, and will be held ongoing, to share information between Richland County officials and community partners in a joint response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public Health Manager/Local Health Officer Rose Kohout announced that as of 2:00pm yesterday there were 1,038 patients tested for COVID-19 in the state of Wisconsin and 72 have tested positive. There is no confirmed case of COVID-19 within Richland County at this time. Ms. Kohout reported that the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are encouraging people to stay home if possible and practice excellent personal hygiene habits, so we can “break this cycle and contain new cases proactively.” Please continue to follow the statewide moratorium on mass gatherings of 10 or more people to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and preserve social distancing of six feet between people.

The Richland Hospital began offering drive-thru testing daily from 8-11am and request that patients call their Coronavirus Hotline at (608) 604-9953 BEFORE coming to the hospital. The Richland Hospital Coronavirus Hotline is available 24 hours/day. The Wisconsin State Lab is prioritizing tests, so test results may take longer than 1-2 days as was originally estimated.

The local school districts have been working on returning personal items to students, establishing their new virtual learning systems, and deep cleaning their facilities. The Richland School District is offering a meal delivery program for students this week, but meals will not be offered next week which is their official Spring Break week. The Ithaca School District will be announcing their plans for a meal delivery program for students in the near future. The University of Wisconsin-Platteville/Richland and the Southwest Wisconsin Technical College have suspended classes and will be offering
online options for students.

The Richland County Highway Shop is closed to the public at this time. Highway Shop staff and Richland Center utility workers are working in groups of 10 or less people. Many local restaurants and taverns are closed, but some are offering Take-Out or delivery food ordering options. The Richland County Sheriff’s Department appreciates everyone’s cooperation with implementing the statewide moratorium on mass gatherings of 10 or more people. For more information, follow Richland County Health & Human Services on Facebook or consult the following websites:

Richland County: https://co.richland.wi.us/departments/hhs/publichealth/coronavirus.shtml

Wisconsin Department of Health Services: www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19

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