Local Covid-19

After 55 days of in-person and hybrid classes Northland Pines district administrator Scott Foster gave a report on how the district is coping with the COVID pandemic and more importantly how the students and staff are accepting the changes and challenges.

“We have about 1500 persons involved with the challenges counting students, teachers, bus drivers, and food service and all have adapted well and adjusted,” Foster said. “Our main goal of continuing in person teaching is working and the kids have adjusted to wearing masks, which we thought would be an issue, but is not.”

There will be no hospital beds available in northcentral Wisconsin by mid-December.

That was the grim message from all three healthcare groups in our region on Friday.

Representatives from Ascension, Marshfield Clinic, and Aspirus spoke during a panel discussion hosted by the Wausau Chamber of Commerce, WSAW, WAOW, Marathon County Health Department, DC Everest School District and Wausau School District.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Tony Evers’ says a virtual meeting with Republican legislative leaders to discuss COVID-19 relief efforts was “productive."

The meeting on Friday was Evers’ first with newly-elected Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and his first since May with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.

It comes as the coronavirus continues to ravage the state, with hospitals at or near capacity.

The head of the Wisconsin Hospital Association on Thursday urged Evers and Republicans to work together urgently to avoid the crisis becoming a catastrophe.

Governor Tony Evers will be issuing a new Public Health Emergency because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Tony Evers has released a package of 19 bills he wants the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature to consider this fall in response to the surging coronavirus pandemic.

The bills released Tuesday would prohibit evictions and foreclosures through 2021 and continue the suspension of a one-week waiting period before people can collect unemployment.

They would also allow workers, including in healthcare, to claim worker’s compensation benefits related to COVID-19 if they contracted the illness from their occupation.

Wisconsin prisons have experienced the highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases since the pandemic began.

The state Department of Corrections reported 808 new COVID-19 cases among inmates Monday, bringing the number of active cases to 2,063.

The Rhinelander District Library is going to curbside service only due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in the area.

The change goes into effect Tuesday, November 17. 

Curbside will be available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m.  to 5:50 p.m.

You can call the library for an appointment, 715-365-1070.

The library will be offering no services the week of Thanksgiving. It will be closed for deep cleaning and reset of procedures.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is hearing arguments on whether to strike down the state’s mask mandate being challenged by conservatives as an unconstitutional overreach of power by Democratic.

Gov. Tony Evers. The arguments Monday come as Wisconsin broke records last week for new COVID-19 cases as the coronavirus continues a surge in the state.

Since the start of the outbreak, Evers has issued three public health emergencies and a series of related orders.

Officials say there is a critical need for blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients in Wisconsin.

Convalescent plasma has been shown to be effective in treating the most seriously ill coronavirus patients, but the demand is far greater than the supply.

Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin’s chief medical officer, Dr. Thomas Abshire, said the need for convalescent plasma in Wisconsin is about double the number of donors giving plasma.