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Senior centers and assisted living facilities take coronavirus precautions

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State health officials announced two new labs will test for the new coronavirus, or COVID-19, this is in addition to the labs in Madison and Milwaukee.

In Wisconsin, 36 people have tested negative, and the risk is still low.

The World Health Organization reports more than 70 percent of those sickened by coronavirus made a full recovery.

Older adults and people with chronic medical conditions are more at risk for developing a severe illness when it comes to coronavirus. Signs and symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath.

Reminders on how to stop the spread of germs and coronavirus are going up in places like the Washington Park Senior Center in Milwaukee and Clement Manor in Greenfield.

"We're monitoring the coronavirus and that we're encouraging people that are sick to stay home and not visit," said Debbie Purdoff, Infection Preventionist at Clement Manor, a retirement community.

They put up signs around their buildings and sent out letters to families about monitoring people coming through their doors and stressing good hand-washing.

"If you fall behind it'll be terrible trying to catch up. Even supplies are hard to get right now. I'm hearing from other facilities, so we're making sure our supplies are there for isolations and masks and gowns just hand sanitizers and soap," said Purdoff.

"There is that new novel disease out there that gets everybody scared but we have to take a step back and say we know this is a virus. We know how it spreads. We know what to expect," said Dr. Nicole Mubanga, at Milwaukee Health Services Incorporated's MLK Clinic.

Dr. Mubanga says it is a new virus but her advice is familiar.

"Still wash your hands and stay away from sick people. Stay home if you're not feeling well because that's how we spread a lot of our germs," said Dr. Mubanga, "If you plan on taking a vacation right now and it’s going to put you at higher risk then just make sure that your plan for the possibility of being Quarantine for two weeks."

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Coronavirus in Wisconsin

More data on Wisconsin's vaccination progress here.

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Check out county-by-county coronavirus case numbers here.

More information: COVID-19 on the Wisconsin DHS website

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