Dunn County leaders urge vaccinations and masks

Dunn County Wisconsin, August 18, 2021 – Dave Bartlett, Chairman of the Dunn County
Board of Supervisors, and Diane Morehouse, Dunn County Board Supervisor and Chair of the
County’s Health and Human Services Board, have issued an appeal to all residents of the County
to get vaccinated for COVID-19, and to wear masks when out of the home. The appeal comes as
Dunn County is experiencing a significant rise in COVID-19 infections. “A troubling change
from previous surges during this pandemic is that there used to be an average of six days
between exposure and the onset of symptoms. That average is now down to three days,” said
Ms. Morehouse.

The recent impact of COVID-19 in Dunn County was made apparent following the July 28, 2021
meeting of the Dunn County Board. Despite the fact that almost all attendees of the meeting
were fully vaccinated, six supervisors subsequently tested positive for the virus. It was
confirmed that some of these went on to infect members of their households before their
symptoms were evident. “We continue to see pre-symptomatic spread from infected
persons. This means that you can contract the virus and spread it to others before feeling ill
yourself,” said Chairman Bartlett.

Dunn County is currently at a “High” rate of transmission per the CDC. A High rate is 100 cases
out of 100,000 population; Dunn County’s rate is 130 cases/100,000. The number of
breakthrough cases, where a vaccinated person contracts the virus anyway, is also on the rise.
“Meanwhile, we have only now reached 40% of the County population being vaccinated,” said
Ms. Morehouse. “This means six out of ten of us are not yet protected.”

The County Board Chairman and Health and Human Services Board Chair ask all residents of
Dunn County to please continue to wear a mask, whether you are vaccinated or not, when you
are out and about or in close proximity to others. They also encourage any person who has cold-
like symptoms to please stay home while those symptoms persist, and to get tested for COVID-
19. “Local hospitals are filling up with COVID-19 patients,” said Chairman Bartlett. “If we
don’t all take proactive steps to address this, we could soon face a health care crisis.”