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.

Public Health Manager/Local Health Officer, Rose Kohout announced that as of 2:00pm Wednesday, January 13th the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) confirmed that in the state of Wisconsin there were 513,270 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 2,414,873 have tested negative, there were 5,248 deaths, and 22,705 hospitalizations due to COVID-19.  Of those that tested positive for COVID-19 in the state of Wisconsin, 4% have been hospitalized.

Emergency Operations partners have decided to offer more up-to-date local data on the condition of our county that might not match the numbers offered by the State.  Public Health Manager/Local Health Officer, Rose Kohout announced that as of 8:00am Thursday, January 14th there are 1,175 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Richland County and 7,991 have tested negative.  Richland County Public Health now has 69 active cases and 1,093 individuals who had tested positive have been released from quarantine. Of those 1,175 individuals who tested positive, 1,162 individuals have been recovering at home, 67 have been hospitalized at some point, and there were 13 COVID-19 related deaths.  Kohout announced that “while we are aware of another COVID-related death in Richland County, we are awaiting confirmation from the State before making that formal announcement.”

A collaborative partnership has been established between the Richland Hospital, Richland County Health & Human Services, Richland County Emergency Management, and Center Pharmacy to develop a local plan to effectively and efficiently distribute COVID-19 vaccinations as they become available.  This group continues to meet weekly to clarify the details of the local plan.

FREE COVID-19 community testing events continue in Richland County.  The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Richland is offering their FINAL FREE COVID-19 testing event on WEDNESDAY, January 20th from 9am-3pm in the Classroom Building located on the Richland Center campus.  All participants must register for this testing event at www.DoINeedaCOVID19Test.com.  Drive-thru community testing events are offered weekly on MONDAYS from 9am-Noon (or until all tests are administered) and THURSDAYS from 9am-3pm at the Richland County Fairgrounds.  Appointments are not required, but it is requested that those who wish to be tested pre-register at https://register.covidconnect.wi.gov.  Tests will be available on a FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVE basis. The FREE COVID-19 testing schedule for events offered in Richland County are as follows (this schedule is tentative and subject to change):

JANUARY 2021      
Monday, January 18th 9am-Noon Richland County Fairgrounds Richland County Event
Wednesday, January 20th 9am-3pm Classroom Building UW-Platteville Richland Event
Thursday, January 21st 9am-3pm Richland County Fairgrounds WI National Guard Event
Monday, January 25th 9am-Noon Richland County Fairgrounds Richland County Event
Thursday, January 28th 9am-3pm Richland County Fairgrounds WI National Guard Event

Richland County Community Partners shared the status of their individual organization’s emergency response, reviewed staffing levels and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) inventory, and discussed priority topics to assist with preventing the further transmission of COVID-19 in our community.

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:

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