This week, Oneida County hit the 200 mark for total number of COVID-19 cases.
There have been 203 people from Oneida County that have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic started.
180 of those people have recovered from the virus. 18 are currently self-isolating. Five are currently hospitalized.
It’s not just the total number health officials are concerned about, it’s the recent uptick of cases.
The number of cases have more than doubled in the last month. On July 28, Oneida County had a total number of 75 cases.
“We’ve been telling our community that we’ve been seeing community spread since pretty early on in the COVID pandemic. That 200 mark is showing that our community is at risk and we are seeing cases,” said Oneida County public health nurse Rebeca Lohagen.
The health department is contact tracing all the cases.
People who have been in close contact with someone who’s tested positive will be notified. The public will be informed if cases are tied to a workplace or event.
The department says most cases are spreading through people getting together.
“It’s largely due to people being out and about attending those large public gatherings, not wearing their masks, potentially not social distancing. We really to encourage people to follow those precautions because that’s what will protect them from contracting COVID-19,” said Lohagen.
There is no public mandate on limiting gathering size. The Oneida County Health Department is asking people to keep it small.
As of Friday morning, Vilas County has a total of 97 cases, Lincoln County has 78, Langlade County has 79, and Forest County has 67.
These are the number of total cases, many of them have recovered.