Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information & Updates

Washington & Ozaukee COVID-19 Updates

Mass Testing Update:

In collaboration with North Shore Health Department and the Wisconsin National Guard we are offering FREE drive-thru COVID-19 testing at Concordia University - Mequon and Washington County Fair Park in West Bend. This service is open to all Wisconsin residents with or without COVID-19 symptoms. Registration is required. Unregistered individuals will not receive testing.

Registration is open May 26 - June 2 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. each day.

Individuals that are currently experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should not wait until the drive-thru sites are open to seek testing. Please contact your medical provider if you are currently experiencing symptoms.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:
The Safer at Home order was struck down by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on May 13, 2020.

If you choose to reopen your business, you are not in violation of Safer at Home or orders issued by the health department. Under the direction of the Ozaukee County Board Chair, the Ozaukee County Administrator, and the Washington County Executive, the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department will issue no countywide orders limiting the public or businesses at this time in response to the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic in our counties. The health department will address any localized COVID-19 outbreaks on an individual basis and continue to provide follow up for positive cases and conduct contact tracing. We urge you to refer to our Blueprint FAQ for recommendations on how to safely reopen our counties. Email covid19@washozwi.gov if you have any other questions.

Visit our Coronavirus (COVID-19) Info Page for general COVID-19 information.

Press Releases & Other Documents

March 13, 2020: COVID-19 General Release
March 18, 2020: First Positive COVID-19 Case & Ban on Mass Gatherings of 10 or More
March 20, 2020: First Death Related to COVID-19 in Ozaukee County
March 21, 2020: Long-Term Care Facility Lockdown & PPE
March 25, 2020: Staffing Agency & Hospice Caregiver Restrictions
March 27, 2020: Additional COVID-19 Related Deaths & Outbreaks
March 30, 2020: Washington County Reports First Death Related to COVID-19
April 2, 2020: Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department to Release COVID-19 Outbreak Data
April 20, 2020: State Now Recommends Health Care Providers Test All Patients with COVID-19 Symptoms
April 21, 2020: A Public Health Economic Analysis of COVID-19
May 18, 2020: Long-Term Care Orders of the Health Officer Modified to Protect Residents

Orders of the Health Officer

March 21, 2020: ORDER OF THE HEALTH OFFICER: IMMEDIATE LOCK-DOWN OF ALL LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES
March 21, 2020: ORDER OF THE HEALTH OFFICER: PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
March 25, 2020: ORDER OF THE HEALTH OFFICER: LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY STAFFING
May 18, 2020: ORDER OF THE HEALTH OFFICER: IMMEDIATE LOCKDOWN OF ALL LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES (modified)
May 18, 2020: ORDER OF THE HEALTH OFFICER: LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY STAFFING (modified)

Key Messages:

You are safer at home.
Younger people, and particularly those who are 18 to 30 years old, aren’t immune to COVID-19. Anyone can contract COVID-19. So it's important for everyone, including young and healthy people, to practice social distancing.
Together we can make a difference in the fight against COVID-19.
- Stay home if you can and especially if you are sick.
- Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.
- Practice social distancing. Please keep six feet between people and avoid direct physical contact.
We all need to work together to flatten the curve and protect the capacity of the health care system to serve those who will suffer with the most severe disease from COVID-19.

Why do Washington and Ozaukee Counties have so many cases of COVID-19?
The Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department (WOPHD) has been able to identify numerous cases quickly because the first reported positive COVID-19 case in Washington County was in a population where testing was prioritized. From there, we conducted contact tracing to identify more cases. Contact tracing is a method that has not been adopted by all health departments throughout Wisconsin, but it has allowed the WOPHD to identify a large number of cases and outbreaks quickly.

What is contact tracing?
Health department staff use contact tracing to identify potential positive COVID-19 cases and exposures. See below for the definition of contact tracing (World Health Organization, 2017).

Contact identification – When someone is positive with COVID-19, health department staff reaches out to the contact and interviews them about their activities and contact they’ve had with others leading up to their illness.
Contact listing – Health department staff create a list of all contacts that the positive case may have had contact with. The contact listing may include friends, family, co-workers, or healthcare workers. Health department staff reaches out to each contact to inform them of their status (they have had an exposure) and provide education, and provides recommendations to contact in the case that they start to have symptoms.

Due to guidelines from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, if the contact is a first responder or healthcare worker and becomes symptomatic, the WOPHD recommends prioritized testing for those individuals.

Common Topics Related to COVID-19

Food Pantry Options during COVID-19
Donate to your local food pantry. Visit Healthy Shelves website for healthy, affordable recipes.
Wisconsin COVID-19 Coronavirus Information - New site dedicated to providing timely WI COVID-19 information.
DHS Health Alert Network (HAN) is now active. Health care providers and other officials engaged in the COVID-19 response have been automatically subscribed to the HAN. Individuals can subscribe and unsubscribe using their preferred email address here.
Questions about your job? Visit the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
Financial Resources to Help Get Through COVID-19