Sokaogon Chippewa Community News
COVID-19 Updates
Posted on: January 27, 2022
Information from the SCC ICS COVID-19 Pandemic Team:
The SCC ICS COVID-19 Pandemic Team has identified 24 additional positive cases since January 20th among Tribal Members, Employees of the Tribe and Members of the Mole Lake Community.
Since January 1st, we have identified 115 new cases among these three groups.
Nearly 60% of positive cases since September have been identified in the past 24 days. While preliminary information suggests most cases may develop only mild symptoms, there are still many others that are at high risk for severe illness.
Due to the unprecedented amount of active cases, there has been a surge of hospitalizations in our North Central region of Wisconsin. Fortunately, the state of Wisconsin as a whole is just starting to see a decrease in hospitalizations over the last few days.
The best way to protect yourself and your family against COVID-19 infection continues to include: washing your hands regularly, wearing a face mask in public, and getting vaccinated if you are able and haven’t already done so.
Information as of Thursday, January 20th:
Forest County Public Health officials have confirmed 450 persons have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since January 1, 2022 – with either a PCR or antigen test.
County health officials and local partners are contacting individuals who test positive as staff is able. There is currently 1 hospitalized individual, 4 deaths related to COVID-19, and 1 death pending confirmation by the Medical Examiner. This is just a snapshot of the numbers as they are continuously changing throughout the day.
Due to the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System being backlogged, we’ve had many positive test results pouring in from test dates dating back a week ago.
With new and shortened isolation and quarantine guidance in place, our staff is unable to track which cases are currently “active” for a variety of reasons – cases come from three jurisdictions (Forest County, Sokaogon Chippewa Community, and Forest County Potawatomi Community), test results come in days after individuals are tested, and contacting every positive case in the county may not be feasible for ‘real-time’ data.
The Forest County Health Department strongly discourages our community members from attending large gatherings at this time, as every county in the state is experiencing CRITICALLY HIGH disease activity. If you are unable to avoid large gatherings, it is recommended that individuals wear a mask and practice social distancing.
