Less than a handful of positives came out of the community testing held in Sturgeon Bay on August 27th by the Door County Medical Center and Bellin Health, but Public Health Director Sue Powers says that isn’t a huge surprise. The four new cases, from around 530 participants, follows a trend seen at other large-scale events from around the state. Back in June at the Door County Justice Center, over three days, the National Guard found zero cases. Powers says that no matter the amount of people tested or the inclusion of those without any symptoms, it still provides only a snapshot of one moment in time.

Powers says most of the cases in Door County are related to family gatherings and being too comfortable in groups while outdoors. She acknowledges that transmissions are less likely while outside, but there is still risk involved. Having three or four cases within extended families adds up over two weeks. Powers says that the compounding effect isn’t being captured during community testing, but can be seen in the numbers reported to the state. It is too early to know what the start of the school year will mean for overall COVID-19 activity in the county.