May 27, 2020 9:05p
(WGTD)---It’s been two weeks since the state supreme court lifted ‘Safer at Home.’ Now public health officials are wondering whether their fears are coming to fruition.
In Kenosha County Wednesday, seven bartenders and servers at several drinking and eating establishments tested positive for COVID-19, according to Kenosha County Health Department Director Jen Freiheit. "This was the scenario that public health was afraid of," Freiheit said during her weekly Wednesday evening telephone briefing to the community." If you have one bartender that may be in touch with 300 people on a night shift...those are 300 people that we would like to contact," she said.
In addition, the number of confirmed cases in Kenosha County continues to rise. 51 additional cases were reported over a 24-hour time span, and there’s been an increase in positive cases as a percent of total tests performed. It's possible that the increases could be due to test results at the labs being bottled up by the long holiday weekend, but it could also be the start of the surge that some health officials feared would result from the court decision, she said.
Kenosha County’s death toll rose Wednesday by one to 25. Three new deaths were reported in Racine County, bringing the total number there to 31.
In addition, Kenosha County hospitalizations have increased to 23, including three patients who are on ventilators. "Our numbers are not going down," she said.
Freiheit urged citizens to wear masks in public, maintain adequate physical distancing and avoid crowds. She also urged businesses to follow the guidelines.
The vast majority of businesses are following the rules, including Amazon, Freiheit said. Freiheit toured Amazon's Kenosha facilities Wednesday, and found that the company was doing everything it can to mitigate the spread of the virus, short of shutting down. Freiheit was invited to take the tour after saying a week ago that the company hadn't been as forthcoming as she'd like.
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