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, May 11th the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) confirmed that in the state of Wisconsin there were 10,418 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 108,033 have tested negative, there were 409 deaths, and 1,846 hospitalizations due to COVID-19. Of those that tested positive for COVID-19 in the state of Wisconsin, 18% have been hospitalized. There are 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Richland County, 356 have tested negative, and there have been 2 deaths as a result of COVID-19 at this time. Kohout also reported that 7 individuals who had tested positive for COVID-19 in Richland County have been released from quarantine.
The Richland Hospital continues to phase in the reopening of their building and services. Non-emergent surgical procedures are being performed now; working through a risk stratification plan from low to high risk patients. A “soft launch” of Primary Care visits began today at the Richland Hospital campus and will expand over the next 4-6 weeks. Primary Care visits will also continue at the Muscoda Health Center and the Spring Green Medical Center during this time. The Richland Hospital Coronavirus Hotline remains available 24 hours a day 7 days a week and patients are still being instructed to call (608) 604-9953 BEFORE coming to the hospital. The Richland Hospital continues to offer their “Respiratory Illness Evaluation” drive-thru service from 8am-Noon 7 days a week and COVID-19 testing is being offered to anyone displaying symptoms.
Ithaca School District Administrator, Julie Prouty announced that the Ithaca School Board met last night and approved a plan to recognize their graduating high school senior class with a video presentation on June 7th. They hope to be able to offer an in-person graduation ceremony, following social distancing and mass gatherings guidelines, on July 12th but will reschedule as necessary. It was noted that the Richland School District will be presenting their high school graduation plans to the Richland School Board early next week.
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, and discussed priority topics to support the community through the recovery process. The Whole Community Recovery Steering Committee has been meeting regularly to identify the economic impact of COVID-19 on Richland County families and determine a suitable long-term recovery structure for our citizens.
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. Citizens are encouraged to check out the Richland County COVID-19 Dashboard which offers helpful data to better understand the impact of the pandemic globally and locally: https://covid.co.richland.wi.us/2020/04/21/richland-county-covid-19-dashboard/. 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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