KEWAUNEE, Wis. — It’s not exactly what people want to hear, but it can help stop the spread of COVID-19.
If you’re not feeling well, stay home.
”We’re telling everyone to stay home if you’re showing any symptoms at all,” said Cindy Kinnard, Health Officer with the Kewaunee County Public Health Department. “What we’ve seen — a lot — in the last couple of weeks is people are saying, ‘I thought it was just a little cold,’ or, “I thought it was allergies,’ or, ‘It’s just the sniffles.’ Those are the people testing positive right now.”
Doubling down on this advice comes as the number of cases in the state continues on a sharp upward trend. Health officials say many of the new cases are coming from community spread and aren’t centered on things like school and work, but rather weddings, parties and other social gatherings.
Over the weekend, a youth football coach in Kewaskum attended a scrimmage while awaiting COVID-19 test results. While at the game, he received a call that his test was positive and reportedly told the contact tracer he was coaching and would call back later. That got several people, including the Washington County sheriff and executive, involved in helping find the individual.
The coach as eventually located, left the venue and lost his assistant position.
The entire incident transpired in about 10 minutes. After review by the health department — everyone at the scrimmage was cleared and the case closed.
Mike Brewer, commissioner of the Wisconsin All-American Youth Football League which provides an overarching framework to a number of leagues and organizations in the state, said its return to play plan stresses safety.
“We had a coaches meeting about it a couple of weeks ago and the rules reading saying, ‘Look, there are no corners you can cut with this. It is this,’” he said.
Brewer said the message to teams, coaches and players is clear when it comes to showing up ill.
“If you feel abnormal — if your symptoms are abnormal — then nothing is worth it. It’s not worth you going out there and risking your health and anybody else’s health,” he said.
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann — who had a son playing on another field and helped find the assistant coach — says the incident mirrors what’s happening in the wider community.
“We’ve had parents send kids to school who are sick, obviously the case of this coach, and that’s why we felt like we really had to come out and have a strong message that its just completely unacceptable and we’re not going to tolerate it, because everyone is trying so hard,” he said.
Kinnard said staying home is one of several things people can do to help protect themselves and their communities.
“We really need people to social distance, staying out that six feet. We need them to do that really good hand washing. If you can’t hand wash, do the hand sanitizing. Carry that sanitizer with you,” she said. “We need people to wear masks when they are out and among other people. And we really need them to stay home, especially when they’re symptomatic.”