MADISON, WI (WSAU) — The State Department of Health Services has announced it supports new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the wearing of face coverings in public places to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“Wisconsin’s 7-day average for new confirmed and probable cases has been trending upward,” said DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk in a press release. “We are concerned with this trajectory along with the increasing proportion of sequenced SARS-CoV-2 specimens that are the Delta variant.”
Officials add the new CDC recommendations, which are based on the most up-to-date information about the Delta variant of COVID-19, will be reflected in all DHS guidance. The Delta variant is highly infectious and is spreading more quickly than any other strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Those call for people to wear face coverings when in enclosed public spaces in areas where COVID-19 case numbers are high, no matter their vaccination status.
Officials add that getting vaccinated remains the best way to protect yourself against the disease. From January 1, 2021 through July 22, 2021, over 98% of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin occurred among people who were not fully vaccinated.
Wisconsin’s statewide vaccination rate has remained steady at 51% for the last few weeks as demand for the vaccine has slowed.
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