WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – A recent New York Times article shows the Oshkosh and Neenah area as one of the next major COVID-19 hotspots. The infection rates in that area are the 6th highest in the country.
“In the past several weeks, there’s been an uptick there’s been a cluster of cases in Winnebago County. We, on a daily basis, several times a day, are working with locals to understand who might have been exposed – and give people the best advice about quarantine and isolation,” says Bureau of Infectious Disease Dr. Ryan Westergaard.
While we’re used to seeing an older demographic in the COVID-19 data, 20-29 year olds in Winnebago County have accounted for 47.2% of cases there since May 17th. That’s the largest percentage for any designated age group. Twenty-somethings have gone from 21 to 110 cases in that time. County health officials are now trying to just get through to the younger crowd.
“What is the best way to reach out to 20-29 year olds?” Communicable Disease Nurse Supervisor Kim Goffard wonders, “We’re looking at different social media platforms, talking to the media, making sure reiterate that just because you’re getting a call from a nurse in the public health department, you’re not in trouble. We just need to get the information.”
Blame is being place, at least in part, on the lack of social distancing at gatherings, bars, and restaurants. Cases are doubling nearly every ten days in the county, with about 200 reported since May 17th.
“The work that we do in public health is to understand how to contain those local outbreaks,” Westergaard says, “When we report the new cases every day – every one of those cases on an individual basis, we know where they live. And when we see multiple cases in a same jurisdiction, work with health departments to identify who they are and do confidential contact tracing.”
