Press Release
Burnett County Public Health and the Burnett County COVID-19 Response Team are encouraging everyone who is safely able to do so wears a mask when they are in a public setting. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), all recommend individuals wear cloth face coverings when they are in a public setting where they cannot reliably maintain six feet of distance from others at all times. The Burnett County COVID-19 Response Team applauds local partners, including businesses and villages, for providing masking guidance. We support these efforts.
Burnett County has a large population of older adults and other high-risk individuals. We all can play a role in helping to keep our community, neighbors and loved ones safe. We are continuing to see significant numbers of COVID-19 cases within the state of Wisconsin as well as within in our region. Burnett County’s current activity level is medium. For further information regarding activity level both locally and statewide, visit: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/local.htm
Per the CDC, cloth face coverings may help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others. Wearing a cloth face covering will help protect people around you, including those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and workers who frequently come into close contact with other people (e.g., in stores and restaurants). Cloth face coverings are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by people in public settings. The spread of COVID- 19 can be reduced when cloth face coverings are used along with other preventive measures, including social distancing, frequent handwashing, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces.
Burnett County COVID-19 Response Team recommends the following:
Every individual in Burnett County wears a face covering that covers their nose and mouth when they are in public settings and around people who don’t live in your household.
CDC recommends that face coverings should not be worn by anyone who is two years old or younger, anyone who has difficult breathing, anyone who is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the cloth face covering without assistance.
The general public should not be utilizing or seeking medical grade masks or N95 masks. These are critical supplies that should be reserved for frontline health care staff and first responders.
More information regarding cloth face coverings, including how to make and clean face masks, can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html
A cloth face covering may not protect the wearer, but may keep the wearer from spreading the virus to others. Let’s all do our part!
For more information on COVID-19 call 211 or visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
You can also follow Burnett County Public Health and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services on Facebook.
Last Update: Jul 22, 2020 11:47 am CDT
