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 Wednesday, April 22nd the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) confirmed that in the state of Wisconsin there were 4,845 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 49,502 have tested negative, there were 246 deaths, and 1,302 hospitalizations due to COVID-19. Of those that tested positive for COVID-19 in the state of Wisconsin, 26% have been hospitalized. There are now 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Richland County, 202 have tested negative, and there has been 1 death as a result of COVID-19 at this time. Kohout also reported that 3 individuals who had tested positive for COVID-19 in Richland County have been released from quarantine.
Richland Hospital Emergency Management Coordinator, Lyle Kratochwill noted it is likely that Richland County and overall the state will experience a “mild uptick in confirmed COVID-19 cases, as we are now able to test more symptomatic patients”. Late last week the Wisconsin Department of Health Services relaxed their COVID-19 testing protocols and encouraged healthcare providers to obtain COVID-19 testing for all who are symptomatic, even patients with mild symptoms. This action serves as the next phase in Wisconsin’s COVID-19 response, which will require aggressive efforts for finding and isolating cases in each community. Citizens are encouraged to check out the new 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/.
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. COVID-19 testing is 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/.
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. It was noted that the “Whole Community Recovery” workgroup has been meeting regularly to identify the economic impact of COVID-19 on Richland County families.
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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