Staff Report

“The school district closed Rocky Branch Elementary, beginning today (Oct 27) thru November 6, to prevent an outbreak in the building, after several staff tested positive for COVID-19,” River Falls Mayor Dan Toland announced in his weekly COVID-19 update just recently, noting that it was probably passed among staff in the building. “Teachers will continue to teach remotely during the two-week closure,” he said.

Shifting to the numbers more generally for the week ending October 25, there were 88 additional cases confirmed in Pierce County, representing a 12.77 percent jump county-wide in just one week since the second case in Wisconsin was confirmed March 9 of this year. This being said, there were no additional deaths or a registered change in the overall activity level. Meanwhile, 437 tests registered as negative and 72 cases had recovered, whereas 16 were still active in terms of change statistics from the week prior.

Shifting from Pierce County to acknowledge the part of River Falls in St. Croix County, the numbers were enlarged somewhat. For the week ending October 26, there was a change of 318 additional cases of COVID-19 in St. Croix County for a one week jump of approximately 17.71 percent rounded down, with no change in the activity level and one additional death.

On the flip side, there had been 1,209 negative tests in Pierce’s County’s northern neighbor, with 169 people with COVID having recovered and 148 cases still active. With just over twice the total estimated population of Pierce County with 42,754 residents in 2019, St. Croix County to the north has an estimated population of 90,687, with official numbers to come relatively soon from the decennial Census.

Shifting last to the State of Wisconsin more generally, Mayor Toland noted that there had been a cumulative increase of 27,158 cases since the week prior, with 5,722 of these active and 21,248 recovered. Additionally, there were 74,079 negative test results added over the week ending October 26, with 188 deaths. As of Monday November 2, the website of the State Department of Health registered 2,050 deaths out of 232,296 total known cases, for a death rate of 0.88 percent, with women slightly more likely to test positive for the virus at 51.0 percent to 48.9 for men, while men were more likely to die of the virus, at 54.9 percent for men to 45.0 percent for women. Since initially being disproportionately represented in American-American and other minority populations, the virus has shifted to affect a larger share of white residents in the state, with 73.8 percent of total cases and 80.2 percent of deaths. Deaths are expected to rise as the cases increase and hospital beds decrease accordingly, leading to some potentially not receiving needed care.

“On slide four, you can see that Pierce County continues to be able to contact new cases within 24 hours. However, like last week, they are not able to trace all close contacts within 24 hours,” Mayor Toland said. River Falls residents can find testing locations in Pierce and St. Croix counties by traveling to the city website at www.rfcity.org/covid19. More information on statewide numbers is available down at the State Department of Public Health website at www.dhs.wisconsin.gov.

“And remember, no matter what happens, the sun will come up the next day and we will still be a caring and compassionate community,” Toland said as he made note of the November 3rd election in his weekly COVID update for October 27. “City staff have been working hard to ensure that voting at each polling location is as safe as possible,” he said, calling for residents to remember to wear a mask and maintain a six foot distance if they planned to vote November 3.