Due to the surge in recent COVID-19 cases, Pierce County Public Health is asking for people who test positive to help with their own contact tracing. Local health departments throughout the state of Wisconsin are overwhelmed by the number of positive cases and have to prioritize which disease prevention activities to continue.

“Pierce County will prioritize reaching out to cases who are under the age of 18, households with children, and those that work or live in long-term care or other congregate settings. We will try our best to reach out to others within 24 hours. If we can’t, we’ll send a letter to the address listed by their healthcare provider with instructions for isolation, quarantine of household members, and contacting their close contacts,” said Brittany Mora, Public Information Officer for Pierce County Public Health.

Pierce County went from receiving 34 cases the week of August 21st to 121 new cases last week. School aged children reflect a significant portion of new cases. Over 50 children who attend school in-person have tested positive since school started September 1st. Five Pierce County residents were hospitalized in the past week.

“We don’t know if this is the peak or the tip of the iceberg for Pierce County. We’re doing our best to keep up with the illness spreading in our community, but we need help from schools, businesses, individuals and elected leaders to be successful this fall,” said AZ Snyder, Pierce County Health Officer.

For guidance on what to do if you test positive, if you are told you have been exposed, or if someone in your business has tested positive, please use these web resources:

•Next steps after testing positive (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p 02627.pdf)

•A tool for confidential close contact notification (https://tellyourcontacts.org)

•Next steps after close contact with someone who tested positive (https://www.dhs.wisconsin. gov/publications/p02598a.pdf)

•Next steps for businesses after identifying someone who tested positive (https://cms5.revize. com/revize/piercewi/Document_center/D epartment/Public%20Health/Publication%20a nd%20Data/Publication/Workplace%20Next% 20Steps.pdf) Pierce County continues to urge those not yet vaccinated to talk to their doctor or make an appointment to receive the vaccine in Ellsworth (https://piercecountycovid19vaccine. as.me/schedule.php) or River Falls (https://freemandrug.as.me/schedule.php).