FROM THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES

Wisconsin is seeing significant COVID-19 activity, and data show that this is at least partly due to activities like gatherings. Data obtained from contact tracing calls indicate that the percent of people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 who reported attending a gathering, party, or other meet up with people outside their home in the past two weeks grew from 7% of cases in May to 21% of cases in June and 20% of cases in July.

DHS urges residents to consider how individual actions like the decision to attend a gathering may contribute to community spread. To support residents in making safer choices, DHS has launched a new Decision Tool for Individuals and Families.

“The safest choices are to stay home and wear a face covering when you are out,” said Governor Tony Evers. “At the same time, we know from the data that people are choosing to participate in activities that put themselves and others at risk, and we hope this tool will assist people in making safe choices. I understand the pull to see family and do the activities we love to do, but we also need to protect ourselves and each other as much as possible.”

The aim of the Decision Tool for Individuals and Families is to help people assess risk and determine the best course of action to keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe. By providing questions to consider, scenarios to think through, and the available evidence behind certain recommendations, the tool is designed to give Wisconsinites necessary information to make choices that will help stop the spread.

“This tool is meant to empower people to choose safer activities whenever possible,” said DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm. “All activities involve some level of risk, and depending on the individual participating and the community where the activity is located, that risk is evolving and multi-dimensional. This tool gives people additional questions to consider when making decisions about which activities to participate in.”

For up-to-date information about Wisconsin’s COVID-19 response, visit the DHS COVID-19 webpage. We also encourage you to follow @DHSWI on Facebook(link is external) and Twitter(link is external), or dhs.wi on Instagram(link is external) for more information on COVID-19.