County reports COVID-19 outbreak at a facility

The Walworth County Public Health Department, in an update this afternoon, said there has been an outbreak of the Coronavirus at a facility causing a significant increase in the number of confirmed cases in the county since yesterday. 

Outside of the 23 additional cases today due to the outbreak at a facility, the overall rise in cases the past week is partially attributable to an increase in private laboratories receiving authorization to test for COVID-19, which provides physicians the opportunity to test people who are not severely ill.

Delays in testing data have skewed Walworth County’s numbers, according to officials. Late last week, the Public Health Department received results for tests that were performed in late March. The department has monitored the suspected cases while awaiting lab confirmation and observed some recovering fully before testing data was available.

The increase in confirmed cases has not overwhelmed available health care resources, they report.

“Our health care systems are strong and our health care workers are doing phenomenal work,” Walworth County Public Health Officer Erica Bergstrom said.

“We are hopeful because we are seeing people recover, including some who have been hospitalized,” she added.

The three deaths have all been older aged adults.

“This virus is particularly hard on those 65 and older. These people also had multiple underlying conditions that complicated their medical care,” Bergstrom said.

“We extend our sympathies to the families and friends of those we recently lost. We must continue to work together to protect our most vulnerable neighbors,” she added.

The Division of Public Health is not publicly releasing the locations of the deaths or confirmed cases, although this information is being shared with dispatch centers.

“The virus is widespread throughout our communities. If you have been in close contact with a confirmed case, you will be notified. Please continue to adhere to physical distancing practices to control the spread of the infection,” Bergstrom said.

Public Health officials advise people who feel sick to stay at home and remain there until they are fever-free for three days without fever-reducing medication, have significant improvement in symptoms, and seven days have passed since your symptoms first appeared.

For the latest information, visit the Centers for Disease Control website at cdc.gov, the State Department of Health Services at dhs.wisconsin.gov or the Walworth County website at co.walworth.wi.us.

Note: This post is under the Elkhorn tab because the Walworth County’s Public Health Department is located in Elkhorn. It in no way implies that the people who’ve tested positive live in the Elkhorn community. As a reminder, Public Health officials are not releasing information to the public on where people who have tested positive reside.