COVID-19 Daily Update: 5.4.2020
COVID-19 DAILY HEALTH UPDATE
(Information from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) current as of 1:00 p.m. Central, Monday, May 4, 2020)
- Total people with negative results: 80,467 (+2,470)
- Total people with positive results: 8,236 (+272)
- Hospitalizations: 1,621 (+13) or 20%
- Total deaths: 340 (+1)
WCA TO HOST WEBINAR TOMORROW ON FEMA’S PUBLIC ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM FOR COVID-19 RESPONSE
The Wisconsin Counties Association will be hosting a Zoom webinar on FEMA’s Public Assistance Grant Program for COVID-19 Response on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, with WCA General Counsel von Briesen & Roper’s Matthew McGovern, Andrew Phillips and Steven Nelson presenting on the topic.
ADDITIONAL COVID-19 COMMUNITY TESTING EVENTS ANNOUNCED IN NORTHWEST WISCONSIN
Governor Tony Evers has announced additional community testing events in northwest Wisconsin. The State Emergency Operations Center, Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), Wisconsin Emergency Management, and Wisconsin National Guard are working with local health departments to create community testing events in places with a known lack of access to testing or where additional testing is needed because of high rates of COVID-19.
“Taking our lab capacity from the ability to perform zero COVID-19 tests in early March to more than 11,000 tests per day now is one of our success stories here in Wisconsin,” said Gov. Evers. “But capacity is not the same as utilization, so we have some work to do to ensure everyone who needs a test is getting one and to understand the full scope of this disease around Wisconsin. The state has been working hard to support local health departments throughout this crisis and we’re pleased to announce these additional community testing events in northwest Wisconsin. I urge anyone who is experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 to go get tested at one of these events.”
The Wisconsin National Guard will be working to assist with testing.
NEW INTERACTIVE TOOL HELPS WEIGH PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECONOMIC TRADEOFFS OF COVID-19 RELATED RESPONSES
RAND released a new tool designed to help state decision makers weigh the public health and economic trade-offs of COVID-19 related responses, like continuing, scaling back, or lifting entirely a range of interventions such as stay-at-home orders or non-essential businesses closures. Unlike other models that look independently at economic or health effects, this tool combines information from both epidemiological and economic models to estimate the effects of five different disease-fighting portfolios, with the ability to vary the start time for new levels of interventions. The model will generate estimates for the projected change in COVID-19 infections, fatalities, hospitalizations, and gross state income. With this tool, you can do the following:
- Review updated public health and economic data by state
- Model the social and economic effects of changing intervention levels
- Evaluate best-practice guidelines for interventions (when to start, when to end, etc.)
- Compare other policy considerations for interventions
The tool is based on evidence from past pandemics, peer-reviewed literature, and data from the current pandemic.
Please share with your colleagues and note that the model will be refreshed every two days with new data to aid recovery planning as it unfolds.
NACO SNAPSHOT: COUNTIES EMPLOY 3.6 MILLION WORKERS NATIONWIDE
Counties employ 3.6 million workers nationwide – many of whom are on the front lines of the COVID-19 response. Over 530,000 county employees work as doctors or nurses in hospitals or public health, caring for patients and helping to prevent the spread of the virus.
Another 940,000 county employees work in justice and public safety, some answering 911 calls as first responders or EMTs, others keeping our counties safe as law enforcement or correctional officers. Led by America’s 40,000 elected county officials, county workers are making great sacrifices to serve our communities.