GREEN COUNTY (WKOW)) -- Green County is one of nine counties in Wisconsin that continues to see a "very high" level of COVID-19 activity.
"We've kind of stayed level through the past few months," public health educator Bridget Craker said Saturday. "We've been at this same very high activity level for a long time."
At the height of the pandemic in November, Green County was the only county not classified as having a "critically high" level of virus activity. But since then, other parts of the state have seen a more steep downward trend.
"Over the past few weeks, the state of Wisconsin has really experienced a decrease in activity level and in case numbers, and we just weren't really seeing that in Greene County," Craker said.
She said the public health department is investigating 13 outbreaks that have been identified since the beginning of the month. She said an outbreak happens when two or more confirmed cases can be tied to the same event.
"We're not even halfway through February yet, and we've already seen this many outbreaks," she said. "It's a little disheartening to see."
Craker said it was policy to not give specific details about any outbreaks, but she said they can happen anywhere, including at workplaces, private gatherings and schools.
She said it has also been disheartening to see neighboring counties record fewer cases as Green County's numbers stay consistent.
The most recent data shows Green County with 648.3 cases per 100,00 people. That's more than double the rates of Dane and Rock counties and more than triple the rates of Lafayette and Iowa counties.
"It's just hard to see," Craker said.
At the same time Green County is confronting steadily high COVID-19 levels, it's doing comparatively well in vaccine distribution.
However, Craker said this isn't enough to stop the virus' spread.
"Even though we have a lot of people getting vaccinated, it's still not enough that it would make a large difference in the the transmission of COVID-19," she said. "We're still really not at that level that would provide any herd immunity."
Craker said the only way to slow transmission is for the public to continue following pandemic precautions like masking, social distancing and practicing good hand hygiene.
"We've been hearing these same messages for about a year now," she said. "Unfortunately, the same messages are just as important now as they were a year ago."
She said continuing to follow these precautions will help Green County lower its disease activity level and get back on track to ending the pandemic.
"It can be hard to keep hearing that message to keep doing it, but, at the end of the day, it's so important to remember that those are the actions that are going to help keep yourself, your loved ones and your community healthy," she said.
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COVID-19 levels decreasing statewide, still 'very high' in Green County - WKOW
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