Richland Center, WI: A virtual Emergency Operations Center meeting was held this morning to share information between Richland County officials and community partners in a joint response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Emergency Management Director, Darin Gudgeon noted that at this time virtual EOC briefings are only being held on Thursdays at 9am.
Public Health Manager/Local Health Officer, Rose Kohout announced that as of 2:00pm Wednesday, July 8th the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) confirmed that in the state of Wisconsin there were 33,154 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 611,150 have tested negative, there were 807 deaths, and 3,683 hospitalizations due to COVID-19. Of those that tested positive for COVID-19 in the state of Wisconsin, 11% have been hospitalized. There are now 16 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Richland County, 1,686 have tested negative, there have been 4 deaths, and 11 individuals who had tested positive have been released from quarantine. It was noted that Richland County Public Health and Richland County Emergency Management are preparing to offer FREE community COVID-19 drive-thru testing as soon as possible. Additional details will be released as soon as they are available. Richland County Public Health strongly recommends wearing a mask in public.
The Richland and Ithaca School Districts are preparing to offer an in-person graduation to their Class of 2020 graduates on Sunday, July 12th. The graduation ceremony plans include safeguards that minimize risk and follow health guidelines, but still offer a ceremony to formally recognize the students. These school districts, as well as UW-Platteville/Richland are reviewing all considerations for safely and successfully reopening schools for the 2020-21 school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Community Services Building and all Health and Human Services operations have reopened to the public; however, many of the services continue to be provided via telephone, video-chat, telehealth, and in-person meetings in the community when appropriate. Clients and members of the public may continue to call (608) 647-8821 for assistance and inquiries. It is recommended that individuals coming into the public building wear a mask.
The Richland Hospital Clinic campus continues to reopen their facility for voluntary medical procedures and Primary Care visits, while also continuing to offer Tele-Health patient visits. Richland Hospital Clinic patients needing hands-on medical care should call the hospital main number (608) 647-6321 or clinic main number (608) 647-6161 before coming to the facility. Anyone entering the facility will be asked to wear a mask. If possible, please bring your own mask with you.
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
- The Greater Richland Area Chamber of Commerce: www.gorcchamber.com
- 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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