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 Tuesday, April 21st the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) confirmed that in the state of Wisconsin there were 4,620 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 47,841 have tested negative, there were 242 deaths, and 1,252 hospitalizations due to COVID-19. Of those that tested positive for COVID-19 in the state of Wisconsin, 27% have been hospitalized. There are now 9 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Richland County, 194 have tested negative, and there has been 1 death as a result of COVID-19 at this time.
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. COVID-19 testing is now being offered to anyone displaying symptoms. 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/.
The “Town Hall Conference Call” with Congressman Ron Kind’s Office was held yesterday and resulted in good discussions with local small business owners, farmers and banks. The Richland County Board also successfully held their first meeting yesterday with the newly elected County Board Supervisors.
Governor Tony Evers Badger Bounce Back plan to help the state reopen safely was discussed and it was noted that we also need to develop a “Richland County Bounce Back” plan to reopen the county safely. Details on the Badger Bounce Back plan can be found at https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p02653a.pdf.
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.
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/
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