An illustration from the just issued "Responding Together Eau Claire" plan. This illustration shows that as a surge of new cases is detected, measures to increase safety (red) can be put in place to reduce the spread of the virus.

A new public health order effective at the stroke of midnight will allow indoor public gatherings of up to 50 people and outdoor public gatherings of as many as 100 people in Eau Claire County.

The updated order, announced by the Eau Claire City-County Health Department, will be in force starting at 12am Thursday, June 11, and will expire June 24. (Read the full PDF here.) The order replaces a prior order that began May 27. Since the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Gov. Tony Evers’ “Safer at Home” order, which was designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Eau Claire County has issued a series of two-week orders that have gradually loosened coronavirus-related restrictions.

Under the now-expiring order, indoor public gatherings were limited to 10 or fewer people while outdoor gatherings were limited to 20 or fewer.

“Public gatherings are those planned events with a number of people in attendance that could strain the planning and response resources, including public health and community health care resources, of the community hosting the event, such as a concert, festival, conference, or sporting event,” the health department said in a press release.

Those who attend such gatherings are still asked to follow physical distancing guidelines, and organizers are required to document information about attendees for contact tracing purposes, the department said.

Also Wednesday, the health department released a 10-page document, “Responding Together Eau Claire,” which outlines ongoing COVID-19 prevention measures and how they will evolve over time.

“Everyone in the community has a critical role to play in meeting the goal of reducing disease spread,” said Lieske Giese, health department director. “By working together, we all can contribute to keeping people healthy and safe while moving Eau Claire County forward.”

As of Wednesday, the health department reported, 126 Eau Claire County residents had tested positive for COVID-19. Of those, 106 are estimated to have recovered. While there have been no deaths attributed to the coronavirus in Eau Claire County, 671 people in Wisconsin and an estimated 114,000 nationwide have died as a result of the virus.

Here is the full press release from the health department:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Eau Claire County COVID-19 Case and Local Health Order Updates

Eau Claire, WI – June 10, 2020 2:30 PM - The Eau Claire City-County Health Department continues to follow the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation as it develops. Testing for COVID-19 in Eau Claire County and around the state continues. The updated case count and testing numbers are below.

	Wisconsin	Eau Claire County	County change from 6/9/2020
Positive test results	21593	126	2
Negative test results	357112	6149	98
Hospitalizations	2,943 (14%)	n/a	n/a
Deaths	671	0	n/a

 

On Wednesday, May 13th, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the state’s Safer at Home order. Though Safer at Home is no longer in place, the COVID-19 disease is still present in the Eau Claire community and poses a serious threat to public health. As a result, the Eau Claire City-County Health Department issued the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Order under the authority provided in Wis. Stat. § 252.03 on May 14, 2020.

Today, an updated order was issued that will go into effect at 12:00 am on Thursday, June 11th. Now permitted in this new order are indoor public gatherings of up to 50 people and up to 100 people in outdoor public gatherings. One-on-one personal service providers are recommended to not exceed 20 clients per day.

Public gatherings are those planned events with a number of people in attendance that could strain the planning and response resources, including public health and community health care resources, of the community hosting the event, such as a concert, festival, conference, or sporting event. Gatherings of any kind outside of a household unit shall exercise physical distancing and comply with all other requirements for public spaces and public buildings found in section 2 of the order. Organizers of public gatherings are still required to document contact information of attendees for contact tracing purposes, and actively screen and prevent attendance of individuals, including staff, volunteers, and attendees, who have symptoms of COVID-19.

The other requirements and recommendations for individuals, businesses, public spaces, personal one-on-one services, and indoor public gatherings remain in effect including:

•  Individuals are strongly encouraged to stay at home or their place of residence, minimize travel outside of the county, and keep their number of connections small
• Restrictions for both public spaces and public buildings, such as physical distancing and limitations on the number of people present at one time
• Religious gatherings and other 1st Amendment-protected activities are exempt
• Elderly and vulnerable people are encouraged to take additional precautions
• All businesses, facilities, playgrounds, campgrounds and other amenities may open and operate unless they are unable to meet and maintain the safety and protection measures outlined in the order
• Use of the WEDC guidance for business reopening by businesses that can first meet the requirements of the local order
• All individuals are strongly encouraged to continue maintaining physical distancing, good hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, cleaning high-touch surfaces, not shaking hands, and follow other WI DHS and CDC recommendations

This order will be in effect until June 24, 2020. As we continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluate what is needed for the protection of our community members, subsequent orders may be issued that provide additional direction for protecting community health based on public health data and other indicators within our community. The health and safety of all community members remains our highest priority.

The Health Department today also released the Responding Together Eau Claire Plan. The purpose of this plan is to provide a help think about when and how various community-level activities can more safely happen. It outlines a plan for when different COVID-19 prevention and safety measures are necessary. “Everyone in the community has a critical role to play in meeting the goal of reducing disease spread,” said Lieske Giese, Director/Health Officer of the Health Department. “By working together, we all can contribute to keeping people healthy and safe while moving Eau Claire County forward.”

More information on the Eau Claire City-County Health Department COVID-19 Prevention and Control Order and Respond Together Eau Claire Plan may be viewed here: https://coronavirus-and-covid-19-information-hub-eccounty.hub.arcgis.com/pages/local-prevention

Data related to COVID-19 disease status and community preparedness is available here: https://coronavirus-and-covid-19-information-hub-eccounty.hub.arcgis.com/pages/local-statistics

Please visit the covid19eauclaire.org website for more information. Questions from the public may be directed to the COVID-19 Call Center: 715-831-7425.