METRO BRiEFS
by B.C. Kowalski
Coronavirus info czar Judy Burrows is the point person when local people have questions about handling COVID-19 warnings, mandates and data Public health efforts to curtail the coronavirus pandemic has prompted the closure or cutback of schools, businesses, events and even churches across the Wisconsin and the nation this week. That includes restaurants and bars, which were ordered closed (except for carryout) under an order from Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday, leaving business owners without revenue and many employees without income. Other crucial services such as hospitals and grocery stores, are exempt. The state mandate on public gatherings could be confusing. People had a lot of questions. And many of those fell to Judy Burrows, who has been designated the COVID-19 (coronavirus) Public Health Information Officer at the Marathon County Health Department. Plenty of people have been calling her seeking answers. Burrows says the department yesterday took a ton of calls from owners of restaurants and other businesses asking about the governor’s order banning most public gatherings of more than 10 people. “The order really locked down a lot of businesses, a lot of restaurants closed down,” Burrows says. About every other call was from employers asking about employee symptoms and how to handle it. The answer: Since without testing it’s hard to discern if an illness is COVID-19 or a flu or cold, best to just go home. “Good infection control measures are sick employees staying home,” Burrows says. Burrows stepped into the public information role on March 9, but otherwise works as the health department’s program director for Community Health Improvement. And she has acted as a PIO before, such as for H1N1. As of Wednesday, there were 106 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin. That’s up from 72 on Tuesday, 47 on Monday, and 27 on Saturday, according to the Department of Health Services. The closest confirmed case to the Wausau area is in Wood County, which has one confirmed case. DHS has been providing daily updates at 2 pm. The county health department will be notified if a confirmed case occurs in Marathon County, Burrows tells City Pages. People are being tested here by area health providers and the swabs are sent to labs for testing, Burrows says. If a case is confirmed by those labs, the state health department and the county health department will be notified. Should that happen, county health officers will conduct a contact investigation, interviewing everyone the person had contact with to ensure it doesn’t spread. One local pathologist told City Pages that not enough testing kits are available for labs to keep up with testing. Social distancing is an important way to slow the spread of the disease, which experts say will be around for months — it’s not something that is going to go away overnight. Covering your mouth when you cough, washing hands and using hand sanitizer are all ways to help limit the spread.
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March 19– 26, 2020
◄ Judy Burrows is the Coronavirus Public Information Officer at the Marathon County Health Department.
Why the shutdowns and crowd limits?
Symptoms are very similar to the flu, Burrows says, and if someone has those symptoms they should call their health care provider first — each provider might have its own protocol for how to test their patients, especially ones who might have the coronavirus. Evers on Thursday declared a state of emergency because of the communicable disease, and canceled K-12 in person classes over the weekend. On Monday Evers ordered gatherings of 50 or more people prohibited, and on Tuesday upgraded that prohibition to 10 or more, with restaurants and bars ordered to close (restaurants can still offer takeout). The governor also issued an order allowing the DOT to issue relief supply permits for items related to the coronavirus for grocery retailers, and DOT secretary Craig Thompson ordered the Wisconsin State Patrol to assist with transporting testing kits. The Wisconsin National Guard was mobilized to help bring 29 Grand Princess cruise ship passengers back to their homes in Wisconsin. At the local government level, municipal buildings are shutting their doors to the public outside of allowing voting and considering ways in order to hold meetings via teleconferences. Many have been canceled, such as a city of Wausau public information meeting on the sewer and water plant upgrades that was supposed to have been held Wednesday.
Potential impact on April 7 elections, polling places
Municipal clerks in the area say they’ve seen an uptick in the number of absentee ballots as the impacts of the Coronavirus take hold and send people home, and they expect more. Wausau City Clerk Leslie Kremer says the office has already seen a greater than usual number of absentee ballots. And Clerk Sherry Weinkauf in Weston sent out a release encouraging more voters to take advantage of absentee ballots so they can steer clear of the polls on April 7; as did Marathon County Clerk Kim Trueblood. In Weston, all four polling places in the village are being moved to Dale’s Weston Lanes, and voters will receive a notification letting them know about the change. Kremer says city officials haven’t gotten word of any talk about postponing the election, but says they’re concerned about losing poll workers out of concern about the coronavirus. Although the deadline to register online or by mail to vote was Wednesday, those who are already registered can request an absentee ballot as late as April 2. And those who missed the online or by mail registration deadline can still register at their municipal clerk’s office by April 3, or at the polls on election day, April 7.
The closures and limit on gatherings of 10 or more people have left businesses without revenue and employees without pay, while others are working from home. The streets on what would ordinarily be a busy Wednesday looked more like a lazy Sunday as people stay home. The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office called the situation unprecedented. Officers don’t want to cite or arrest small business owners during an already difficult time, according to a recent news release, but also say the Gov. Tony Evers’ orders carry weight. The office will allow business owners time to prepare for the shut down but also say they will cite or arrest if they receive reports of violations. That matters, because the next two weeks are critical, says Dr. Sarah Sewall, a pathologist at Associates in Pathology in Wausau. She says the next two weeks are a critical window where people should be practicing social distancing. And when she means social distancing, she means no socializing of any kind and only going out when necessary. And maintaining a bubble of six feet is important. “We’re in a very crucial period where we can change the trajectory of this disease,” Sewall says. “We need to do it now. The epidemiological studies are so clear, our doubling times are tracking exactly with Italy.” That country is currently on lockdown with only grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores open. “The only tool we have in our tool box is social distancing.” Sewall, who is also a mother, says parents have been asking about small play dates while their children are at home. She tells them absolutely not. Social distancing is needed to prevent a surge of people contracting the virus. Doctors are already having ethical conversations around what will happen if that surge hits a critical mass that overtaxes the hospital system, Sewall says. That could mean far more people needing hospital beds than there are actual beds. Children in day care should wash their hands when they come home, change clothes and get in the shower or bath to prevent the illness from spreading, Sewall told City Pages.
