COVID Update from Dr. Hall - 9/20/2021

Data update for Dunn County. Cases continue to increase, especially in ages 10-19. All counties in the Chip Valley have broken records for new daily cases this year. Cases in Stout students are still low but starting to tick upward. Two new deaths in Dunn County, both under age 60 and without any underlying health conditions. We've now had three deaths total this month (out of 40 total since the pandemic began), 1 person in their 60's and the other two under 60. A schoolchild has been hospitalized, one of 11 total in hospital as of Friday afternoon. Two area hospitals are on diversion due to high numbers of COVID patients. 1 ICU bed (out of 72) is open in the entire NW region of WI. This is not sustainable. Our public health and medical care systems CANNOT keep up with this. Unless behaviors change drastically, we are likely to see a lot of suffering due to illness and due to lack of access to appropriate levels of health care for other conditions too (e.g. there's no hospital bed for you, the ER is overcrowded, etxc.) that could have been avoided with continued mitigation measures (masks, distancing, quarantine) and more widespread uptake of vaccine. Our health care workers are exhausted. Please, for their sakes if not your own, wear a mask, keep your distance, get vaccinated if you haven't yet, and keep your circle really small.