In an effort to keep the community informed and to be transparent about decision making, Chippewa County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) announces today a new local COVID-19 data dashboard. The dashboard is broken down by three groupings that are critical to understanding and responding to COVID-19 in Chippewa County: disease occurrence, healthcare availability, and public health response. Within each group, measures and thresholds help to determine the progress that is or isn’t being made toward identifying and controlling the spread.

Data will be continuously monitored, and the dashboard will be updated every Tuesday afternoon. There are two documents: the full dashboard, which includes explanations on the measures and thresholds, as well as how gathering guidance is determined, and the summary document. The summary document gives a quick snapshot of the weekly data and color-codes the information into a simple visual.

The Data Task Force, made up of public health nurses, other public health practitioners, and law enforcement, is monitoring the 11 measures, as well as other measures. The Task Force may add or remove measures to the dashboard, as data is available, in order to best represent what is happening in Chippewa County. Decisions to change the dashboard will be made after multiple weeks of monitoring and review—they will not be made simply to change the risk-level. The intent of this dashboard is to help the public understand what is happening in Chippewa County and make informed decisions for their family, businesses, and community.

“The virus is still in Chippewa County, and the only sure way to keep your risk low is to stay at home and interact only with those living in your household. No matter what our dashboard says, there will be a risk of getting COVID-19 if you are out and about in our county,” said Angela Weideman, Health Officer/Director of Chippewa County Department of Public Health.

The current risk-level is moderate; corresponding gathering recommendations are 50 or less indoors and 100 or less outdoors. With all gatherings, CCDPH recommends attendees wear masks, stay home if they’re sick, and stay physically distant in public. If hosting a gathering, ensure there is ample space for physical distancing and that attendees do not need to be touching shared objects.

To view the dashboard visit: https://www.co.chippewa.wi.us/government/covid-19-coronavirus- disease-2019. A copy of Sunday’s dashboard is pictured below.

The new Stanley bus garage continues to rise in this recent photo taken on East First Avenue, as the state has ordered a firewall built after reviewing plans that were earlier fast tracked due to COVID-19. Staff photo.