MONROE – The first week of May saw the biggest jump locally in confirmed cases of COVID-19 since testing began in March.
Many are associated with an outbreak at a Monroe cheese-packaging plant.
At least 28 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in connection to the outbreak reported May 2 at Wisconsin Cheese Group, according to RoAnn Warden, director of Green County Public Health.
Of these, 18 are Green County residents — over half of the 33 positive cases confirmed in the county as of May 11. The outbreak also includes residents of Lafayette, Stephenson, Winnebago and Jo Daviess counties. Local health departments in those counties have been notified of their residents who tested positive, Warden said.
“There could be more,” she said. “I don’t know if some employees from neighboring counties went off on their own for testing somewhere else.”
Cases are tracked by county of residence, meaning that multiple counties can be involved in tracking an outbreak at a workplace. Wisconsin health departments, health providers and labs use a system to share data called the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS).
Elizabeth Townsend, director of the Lafayette County Health Department, confirmed that her county had residents who had tested positive at Wisconsin Cheese Group. She declined to say how many “due to our small population in the county” and health privacy laws.
Wisconsin Cheese Group hosted a large-scale testing event on May 5 for employees at its cheese packaging facility at 105 3rd St. At that time, employees had already tested positive for COVID-19, including residents of Green, Stephenson and Lafayette counties.
Of the 167 tested at the facility on May 5, 19 tested positive for COVID-19 and one test was still pending as of May 11, according to Warden.
In response to the outbreak, Wisconsin Cheese Group worked with Green County public health officials to increase safety precautions and quarantined employees who tested positive, along with their direct contacts on the job. The company also paused operations over the weekend of May 8-10 for a deep sanitization.
Jim Crubaugh, director of manufacturing for Monroe’s three Wisconsin Cheese Group plants, said the first person to test positive after leaving work early on April 22 is now back after a quarantine, along with those quarantined at the same time who may have had exposure to the infection.
“It was great getting them back. They seemed happy to be back, too,” he said.
Warden said there are no other outbreaks reported in Green County as of May 11.
Of the 33 confirmed cases countywide, 14 were reported as recovered. Two-thirds of the confirmed cases were reported in the first week of May. Green County had its first confirmed case March 20.
The tripling of cases in Green County so far in May brings Green County’s rate of infection, measured as the number of infections per 100,000 people, to 89.5 as of May 11, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health. Among neighboring counties, this is the same as Dane County’s rate but substantially less than Rock County’s rate of 223.2. The statewide rate is 180.3.
Lafayette County’s rate of infection is 77.7, with 13 confirmed cases as of May 11. The most recent four cases were reported on a single day, May 8. Lafayette County had its first confirmed case April 6.
The recent increase in testing capabilities across Wisconsin “is likely why we are now able to identify more positive cases of COVID-19,” Townsend said.
Free drive-thru or walk-up testing for COVID-19 is now available at sites around the state. The closest is in Madison at Alliant Energy Center, where nasal swab testing is offered 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday. No appointments or preregistration is necessary.
The test is not an antibody test and can only reveal if a person currently has the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Anyone can get tested but it is strongly recommended for anyone experiencing symptoms, uninsured people, contacts of people who have been diagnosed and essential workers who are unable to socially distance at work, including those who work in food service, on dairy farms or in health care.
More information on the testing is here. It's offered through a partnership of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and National Guard.
Many are associated with an outbreak at a Monroe cheese-packaging plant.
At least 28 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in connection to the outbreak reported May 2 at Wisconsin Cheese Group, according to RoAnn Warden, director of Green County Public Health.
Of these, 18 are Green County residents — over half of the 33 positive cases confirmed in the county as of May 11. The outbreak also includes residents of Lafayette, Stephenson, Winnebago and Jo Daviess counties. Local health departments in those counties have been notified of their residents who tested positive, Warden said.
“There could be more,” she said. “I don’t know if some employees from neighboring counties went off on their own for testing somewhere else.”
Cases are tracked by county of residence, meaning that multiple counties can be involved in tracking an outbreak at a workplace. Wisconsin health departments, health providers and labs use a system to share data called the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS).
Elizabeth Townsend, director of the Lafayette County Health Department, confirmed that her county had residents who had tested positive at Wisconsin Cheese Group. She declined to say how many “due to our small population in the county” and health privacy laws.
Wisconsin Cheese Group hosted a large-scale testing event on May 5 for employees at its cheese packaging facility at 105 3rd St. At that time, employees had already tested positive for COVID-19, including residents of Green, Stephenson and Lafayette counties.
Of the 167 tested at the facility on May 5, 19 tested positive for COVID-19 and one test was still pending as of May 11, according to Warden.
In response to the outbreak, Wisconsin Cheese Group worked with Green County public health officials to increase safety precautions and quarantined employees who tested positive, along with their direct contacts on the job. The company also paused operations over the weekend of May 8-10 for a deep sanitization.
Jim Crubaugh, director of manufacturing for Monroe’s three Wisconsin Cheese Group plants, said the first person to test positive after leaving work early on April 22 is now back after a quarantine, along with those quarantined at the same time who may have had exposure to the infection.
“It was great getting them back. They seemed happy to be back, too,” he said.
Warden said there are no other outbreaks reported in Green County as of May 11.
Of the 33 confirmed cases countywide, 14 were reported as recovered. Two-thirds of the confirmed cases were reported in the first week of May. Green County had its first confirmed case March 20.
The tripling of cases in Green County so far in May brings Green County’s rate of infection, measured as the number of infections per 100,000 people, to 89.5 as of May 11, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health. Among neighboring counties, this is the same as Dane County’s rate but substantially less than Rock County’s rate of 223.2. The statewide rate is 180.3.
Lafayette County’s rate of infection is 77.7, with 13 confirmed cases as of May 11. The most recent four cases were reported on a single day, May 8. Lafayette County had its first confirmed case April 6.
The recent increase in testing capabilities across Wisconsin “is likely why we are now able to identify more positive cases of COVID-19,” Townsend said.
Free drive-thru or walk-up testing for COVID-19 is now available at sites around the state. The closest is in Madison at Alliant Energy Center, where nasal swab testing is offered 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday. No appointments or preregistration is necessary.
The test is not an antibody test and can only reveal if a person currently has the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Anyone can get tested but it is strongly recommended for anyone experiencing symptoms, uninsured people, contacts of people who have been diagnosed and essential workers who are unable to socially distance at work, including those who work in food service, on dairy farms or in health care.
More information on the testing is here. It's offered through a partnership of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and National Guard.
“Increased testing and contact tracing are core elements of our Badger Bounce Back plan and are critical to slowing the spread and boxing in COVID-19,” said Gov. Tony Evers in a statement.
