SHEBOYGAN — Sheboygan County has issued an emergency COVID-19 alert saying that the public health department and medical facilities are struggling to keep up with the pandemic.
Tuesday's announcement is not a formal ordinance or public health emergency declaration. Instead, it is an alert to notify the public on current conditions and to ask the public to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
According to a statement from the county, "due to escalation in cases, public health has not consistently been able to notify positive cases and their close contacts in a timely manner. This severely limits efforts to contain the virus. Additionally, hospitals are enacting emergency plans."
The county says they are struggling to notify people of positive COVID-19 test results within the 24-hour period and the number of hospitalizations is on the rise.
To note the severity of the conditions in Sheboygan, the county mentioned a recent listing in the New York Times where Sheboygan was listed as number 2 in the U.S. for the fastest-growing number of cases in a metropolitan area within the past week.
In their statement, the county asked the public to do several things: limit interactions with people outside of your household, follow social distancing guidelines, do not host concerts, sporting events, or other large gatherings, and follow WEDC guidelines.
The county then ended their statement with this: "We are all in this together. Please join us in protecting one another. You can stop the spread of COVID19."
You can read the full statement below.