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 Monday, January 18th the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) confirmed that in the state of Wisconsin there were 522,877 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 2,441,843 have tested negative, there were 5,470 deaths, and 23,130 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 Tuesday, January 19th there are 1,187 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Richland County and 8,023 have tested negative. Richland County Public Health now has 46 active cases and 1,128 individuals who had tested positive have been released from quarantine. Of those 1,187 individuals who tested positive, 1,174 individuals have been recovering at home, 68 have been hospitalized at some point, and there were 13 COVID-19 related deaths.
A collaborative partnership has been established between the Richland Hospital, Center Pharmacy, Richland County Health & Human Services, and Richland County Emergency Management 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 and progression of the local plan. Richland Hospital Emergency Management Coordinator, Lyle Kratochwill announced that the Richland Hospital has updated their website to include COVID-19 vaccine details and links to schedule your appointment and/or add your name to the waitlist at https://www.richlandhospital.com/covid19/.
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):
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 |
Monday, February 1st | 9am-Noon | Richland County Fairgrounds | Richland County Event |
Thursday, February 4th | 9am-3pm | Richland County Fairgrounds | WI National Guard Event |
Monday, February 8th | 9am-Noon | Richland County Fairgrounds | Richland County Event |
Thursday, February 11th | 9am-3pm | Richland County Fairgrounds | WI National Guard Event |
Monday, February 15th | 9am-Noon | Richland County Fairgrounds | Richland County Event |
Thursday, February 18th | 9am-3pm | Richland County Fairgrounds | WI National Guard Event |
Monday, February 22nd | 9am-Noon | Richland County Fairgrounds | Richland County Event |
Thursday, February 25th | 9am-3pm | Richland County Fairgrounds | WI National Guard Event |
Monday, March 1st | 9am-Noon | Richland County Fairgrounds | Richland County Event |
Thursday, March 4th | 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:
- Richland County: https://covid.co.richland.wi.us
- University of Wisconsin – Platteville Richland: https://www.uwplatt.edu/news/update-coronavirus
- 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/
-End-