The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has Door County Public Health being proactive in asking you to mask up in an announcement made on Friday. Door County is currently in the moderate community transmission threshold outlined by the Centers for Disease Control, which is recommending people of all vaccination status indoors if they are in counties with substantial or high transmission rates. Transmission rates judge how fast the virus is spreading in a given community. Door County Public Health is basing its recommendation on the more current metrics from the state’s Department of Health Services, which bases the activity level on the positivity rate and current active cases. Currently, all 72 Wisconsin counties are either at high or very high. The Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene has identified the Delta variant in 80 percent of the positive cases within the current week. The recommendation is not a mandate, but Door County Public Health Officer Sue Powers told DoorCountyDailyNews.com earlier this week that people should consider masking, especially in more risky situations.
Door County Public Health also recommends people to get vaccinated as it is the top defense against COVID-19 including the Delta Variant. On Wednesday, Door County reported 11 new cases and three hospitalizations in its weekly situation report.
PRESS RELEASE FROM DOOR COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH
Door County is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. We are currently considered at ‘moderate’ community transmission by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). This means we currently do not meet the mask threshold set by the CDC which would be recommended at ‘substantial’ or ‘high’ levels of community transmission. However, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services data, which is more current, has put us at a high disease activity level: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/local.htm. Across the state, all counties except one are at high COVID activity level; one county is at very high level.
The Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene tests a sampling of all positive cases for variant identification. 80% of those tested for the current week were positive for the Delta virus. The Delta virus is highly transmissible, causing the current surge in cases. The Delta virus can spread from vaccinated as well as unvaccinated people when infected.
To be proactive, we are now recommending that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask in indoor public spaces per the recent CDC guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html. Masks are recommended for people aged two and older. This new guidance has been put in place to protect everyone, especially those who are unvaccinated and those who are immunocompromised.
The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing severe illness that can lead to hospitalizations or death. Vaccination remains the top defense against COVID-19 including the Delta variant.
The CDC guidance recommends additional strategies that will provide protection against the spread of this contagious virus. Scientific evidence shows that masks play an important role in reducing the spread of COVID-19. The best way to protect yourself, your family, and your community is by getting fully vaccinated, and we encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as they are able. We also recommend staying 6 feet apart from those not in your household while in public, staying home when sick, cleaning and sanitizing high touch areas and washing your hands often.
This is a critical time for Door County with a marked increase in COVID-19 activity over the past two weeks. The increasing numbers of confirmed cases, as well as the multitude of visitors coming to our area, make it important that we all wear a face covering in indoor public places. Together, we all can help stop the spread of COVID-19 in Door County.
