Monroe Clinic staff collected nasal swab specimens from 167 employees during the event and offered a drive-thru option for those not working that afternoon, according to a release from the hospital.
Results from the tests were expected by the end of the week.
At least 13 cases are associated so far with the outbreak at Wisconsin Cheese Group. The first case was confirmed April 24.
As of May 7, Green County had 11 confirmed positive cases associated with the outbreak, said Green County Public Health Director RoAnn Warden. In addition, Warden said she was aware of one Lafayette County resident and one Stephenson County resident who had tested positive in connection to the outbreak.
In total, Green County had 23 people confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19 as of May 7. Of these, 12 had recovered, with the public health department defining recovery through one or more of the following: documentation of resolved symptoms, documentation of release from public health isolation or 30 days since symptom onset or diagnosis.
Lafayette County reported three additional cases May 5, bringing the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to nine. Stephenson County reported 80 confirmed cases as of May 6.
No deaths have been reported in Green, Lafayette or Stephenson counties, however as of May 7, the death toll of those who tested positive for COVID-19 had risen statewide in Wisconsin to 374, with 12 deaths reported in Rock County and 22 in Dane County.
The outbreak at Wisconsin Cheese Group is the only one reported in Green County so far. A facility-wide public health investigation is initiated in any workplace with two or more positive cases.
Warden said the testing event was a “great joint effort by all” and she appreciated Monroe Clinic’s medical support and Wisconsin Cheese Group for “assisting with the work flow process.” The State of Wisconsin Emergency Operations Center provided the test kits, which will be processed at Exact Sciences Laboratories in Madison.
In a statement, Dr. Darren Pipp, Chief Medical Officer at Monroe Clinic, also praised the partnership.
“Due to the increased risk of this situation, we were able to prioritize these tests to stop any potential spread of the virus. We are glad we were able to support a local business with this effort,” he said.
Dave Fransen, a spokesperson for Wisconsin Cheese Group, said the company is continuing to “increase our already stringent safety protocols per CDC guidelines” at all three of its locations in the area to mitigate risk of spreading the new coronavirus. Wisconsin Cheese Group is a leading producer of Hispanic-style cheeses and probiotic beverages.
Employees with possible exposure to the virus have been quarantined, and safety measures like mandatory masks and face shields are in place. Green County Public Health did a “facility walk-through assessment” on May 1, Warden said.
On May 7, Fransen announced the company would “pause operations” the following day to conduct a deep sanitization and would resume operations after the weekend on May 11. The measure is being taken “out of an abundance of caution."
Entering a 'recovery phase'
As Green County begins reopening as part of Governor Tony Evers’ Badger Bounce Back plan, the public health department is encouraging local businesses to ask for assistance and support on prevention measures.
Even as positive cases rise, hospital admissions for COVID-19 patients and those awaiting COVID-19 testing are trending downward, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association.
In March, in preparation for a potential surge of COVID-19 patients and to reduce risk of viral spread, hospitals including Monroe Clinic postponed nonemergency procedures and screenings.
In terms of capacity now, however, Monroe Clinic is “doing very well,” Chief of Police Fred Kelley said at a meeting May 5 of the city’s ad hoc committee to address the COVID-19 crisis. “They’re not overburdened at all. They’re holding their own.”
Laura Lippold, a Monroe Clinic spokesperson, reported on May 5 that the hospital is “beginning to enter the recovery phase of incident management in regards to COVID-19” and developing a “careful approach to safely resume services for patients,” but she didn’t immediately have details on what steps are being taken or how the hospital is defining the recovery phase.
“The recovery process will be ongoing as we evaluate how COVID-19 progresses within our local area,” she said in a statement.
More Testing, more tracing, more disinfecting
In a press briefing May 5, Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said increased testing and contact tracing is key to “box in the virus” and move forward in the Badger Bounce Back plan. The National Guard is helping set up testing sites across the state, although none yet locally.
“We need to dramatically increase access to testing. This virus is very pervasive,” Willems Van Dijk said. She noted Wisconsin is an “enviable” position with access to private labs like Exact Sciences.
She said a recent job listing for contact tracers had over 1,000 applicants in a few days. The goal with contact tracing is to “follow up with every person who tests positive for COVID-19 within 24 hours” and then call their contacts within another 24 hours.
“We are not a closed society. Many acts of daily living are still happening in our state. We still are seeing prevalence of COVID-19 throughout our state, so we still need to take precautions,” she said.
Also this week, crews began setting up a mask-decontamination operation in Madison that uses hydrogen peroxide vapor to disinfect and kill any residual viruses on masks like N-95 respirators.
The effort to address the shortage of personal protective equipment is a partnership between Wisconsin Emergency Management and Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and tech development company based in Ohio.
Healthcare workers across the state will be able to send their masks to the operation for disinfection and get them back to re-use within 72 hours, said Caitlyn Farragher, a field technician specialist with Battelle. Masks receive the hydrogen peroxide vapor treatment on racks inside temperature-controlled trailers in a warehouse. The goal is to run 24/7 and decontaminate 80,000 masks daily.
