The New York Times has cited that as of October 6, Sheboygan has one of the fastest growing cases of COVID-19. In fact, it cited Sheboygan as the second in growing cases with Seneca, South Carolina, being number one. Due to this shocking rise Sheboygan county has issued an “emergency alert.” 

Due to this escalation in cases, hospitals were forced to enact emergency plans and limited contact tracers’ ability to notify positive cases and their close contacts in a timely manner. However, outside of hospitals, the county has yet to enact any new rules or limits. Though, this could be due to the fact that there was such vocal opposition when the current health orders were implemented during August and September. 

The health order still urges businesses to follow the Wisconsin Economic Development Cooperation guidelines, such as having employees work from home when possible, asking for  restaurants, bars, hotels, and stores to limit occupancy to minimize the amount of person-to-person contact, along with advising against holding concerts, festivals, or sporting events. 

It is encouraged to continue practices of social distancing when leaving your home and wearing a mask when in public. In addition to that, make sure that you are washing your hands regularly or using hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Most importantly, as the health order stated, limit your exposure to people outside of your home, as in avoiding events with large gatherings of people without a mask. 

If you have symptoms, get tested as soon as possible and stay home while waiting for the results. For those living at or attending Lakeland University, you can set up a COVID test at the Health and Wellness Center on campus. Prevea also lets you set up appointments through their website for the on-campus site, but it can also direct you to one of their other testing locations if you are not on campus.  

If you want daily updates of COVID cases in Sheboygan county, you can go to sheboygancounty.com, under Health and Human Services in Public Health and select Coronavirus (COVID-19).