Door County Public Health announced Monday afternoon the significant uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 in our community. The last few weeks have seen an exponential growth of positive cases. As that number of new cases accelerates upward it exceeds the ability of testing and case investigation to control the spread of this illness. Contact tracing capacity is significantly strained. Their goal remains to get ahold of all confirmed cases within 24 hours of being reported to the health department, however with this recent surge they are days behind this goal. So, at this time, Public Health will no longer be calling those who are close contacts of a positive case. Now they are requesting help from the community as a whole. With the test results taking up to 5 or 7 days, they ask you to remain isolated while awaiting your test results. You will be notified of all test results, positive or negative. If your test result is positive, public health needs you to stay home and isolate for a minimum of 10 days after the onset of your symptoms. If you are symptom-free, then please remain isolated for 10 days from your testing date. You should notify your employer and your close contacts, asking them to quarantine for 14 days from their last contact with you. Safety guidelines remain the same, those being that everyone should stay home if possible, wear a face covering, keep a physical distance of 6 feet with others, avoid unnecessary travel and group gatherings.
