| Chisago County
Health and Human Services
Public Health Division |  |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(10/05/20)
Remaining Vigilant with COVID-19
**MEDIA ADVISORY**
October marks month seven of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while some "COVID fatigue" is to be expected, public health experts are adamant that virus vigilance is just as vital now as it was in the beginning.
In Chisago County, our confirmed COVID-19 cases have risen dramatically in the last two months. Back in August, Chisago County was climbing to 200 cases, and now we are seeing three times that amount of cases in our county alone. Most recently, our confirmed case count increased by 100 in just one week. Early on in this pandemic, people were highly conscious of limiting contact with others and traveling much less which greatly assisted in containing this virus and now that our communities have slowly opened back up and things have felt somewhat 'normal' again, our public health efforts cannot diminish.
Chisago County Public Health has been seeing an increase in confirmed cases associated with residents partaking in social gatherings and recreational activities (e.g. weddings, funerals, and extended family/friend gatherings). If you decide to take the risk and host a gathering or event, keep in mind that events at private homes are subject to the social gatherings limits in Executive Order 20-74 of 10 indoors and 25 outdoors. In event spaces and venues, limit indoor and outdoor occupant capacity to no more than 25% up to 250 persons, so long as social distancing can be maintained. Masks should be worn at all times while not eating or drinking, and handwashing and sanitization of highly touched surfaces should remain key practices to staying safe.
Now that our schools are back in session, it is more important than ever to be sure we are staying just as safe inside the classroom as we are out in our communities. There's no such thing as zero risk, but certain practices can lower the risk of an outbreak at school and keep children, teachers and their families safe. We want our schools to remain open and our kids to be able to participate in activities that are safe.
Through partnerships with healthcare, school, law enforcement and other key partners, we can intervene in multiple ways through education, infection control, case investigation, and isolation and quarantine, to slow down and stop outbreaks in our community but it takes each and every one of us to do our part.
For the latest information about COVID-19 in Chisago County, visit @ChisagoCountyPublicHealth on Facebook or the Chisago County COVID-19 Information Page.