Richland Center, WI: A virtual Emergency Operations Center meeting was held again this morning 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 Monday, April 20th the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) confirmed that in the state of Wisconsin there were 4,499 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 46,603 have tested negative, there were 230 deaths, and 1,211 hospitalizations due to COVID-19. Of those that tested positive for COVID-19 in the state of Wisconsin, 27% have been hospitalized. There are 8 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Richland County, 191 have tested negative, and there has been 1 death as a result of COVID-19 at this time.
Richland Hospital Administrator, Bruce Roesler reported that the Richland Hospital has lifted the tiered testing requirements and “we are now testing anyone who is symptomatic for COVID-19”. The Richland Hospital Coronavirus Hotline remains available 24 hours/day and patients should call (608) 604-9953 BEFORE coming to the hospital. The Richland Hospital continues to offer COVID-19 testing out of their “Respiratory Illness Evaluation” drive-thru service 7 days a week from 8am-5pm. Patients needing hands-on medical care should always call the hospital main number (608) 647-6321 before coming to the hospital. Additional information about the online or telemedicine services being offered can be found at https://www.richlandhospital.com/online-services/.
Richland County small business owners, farmers and local banks were encouraged to attend the “Town Hall Conference Call” that is scheduled for today at 2:30pm with Congressman Ron Kind’s Office. To register for the call, please email Marty Richards at marty.richards@richlandcenter.com.
Richland County Administrator, Clinton Langreck stated that the Richland County Dairy Breakfast scheduled for June 14th has been canceled and other major events scheduled for this summer/fall in Richland County are under review. Governor Tony Evers “Badger Bounce Back” plan was discussed noting that the established criteria will help the state reopen safely.
Richland County Community Partners shared the status of their individual organization’s emergency response, reviewed staffing and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) needs and local inventory, continued efforts to assist small business owners, and discussed priority topics to support the community through the recovery process. It was noted that the “Whole Community Recovery” workgroup has been meeting regularly to identify the economic impact of COVID-19 on Richland County families.
If you have a COVID-19 question that you want our community partners to answer, please call Richland County Health & Human Services at 608-647-8821 and submit your question to the receptionist or email the question to rchhs@co.richland.wi.us. For the most up-to-date COVID-19 information, follow Richland County Health & Human Services on Facebook or consult the following websites:
- Richland County: https://covid.co.richland.wi.us
- Wisconsin Department of Health Services: www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
-End-