By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

A primary measure of the spread of COVID-19 in a community is the positivity rate, which is generally calculated as the percentage of people with positive results out of all of the test results that have been reported in the past 7 or 14 days. The Whitewater Unified School District Board has indicated that, based on advice from the Jefferson County epidemiologist, in order for fulltime in-person classes to resume, the blended 14-day positivity rate for Jefferson, Rock and Walworth counties should be less than 8% and continue on a downward trajectory for 14 days. Some school districts have used a target of 5%.

The tables below show both the 14 and 7 day test results for the city and Walworth County. (Only the Walworth County portion of Whitewater can be computed, as the census tract for the Jefferson County portion of the city extends as far as Palmyra.) Although the 14 day positivity rate for the city has declined, unfortunately the trend for the past 7 days has been on the increase.

COVID-19 TEST RESULTS – CITY OF WHITEWATER (WALWORTH COUNTY PORTION)

End Date	# Tests Reported – 14 days	# Positive	Positivity %	# Tests Reported – 7 days	#Positive	Positivity %
8/22	216	27	12.5%	103	6	5.8%
8/29	221	19	7.9%	128	13	9.2%

COVID-19 TEST RESULTS – WALWORTH COUNTY

End Date	# Tests Reported – 14 days	#Positive	Positivity %	# Tests Reported – 7 days	# Positive	Positivity %	% of Those with Positive Results Who Reported being Asymptomatic	Total Deaths
8/22	2386	277	11.6%	1071	112	10.5	11.4%	25
8/29	1972	210	10.6%	901	98	10.9	11.1%	27

UWW has established the following dashboard which provides useful information. It is found at this link.

COVID-19 Dashboard

The COVID-19 pandemic is an ever-changing situation and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater actively monitors and reviews a series of health, safety, and resource metrics to guide decision-making with regard to university operations. These metrics are considered in combination and consultation with recommendations and orders from the state and county health departments before any changes in operations are made.

COVID-19 cases reported to UW-Whitewater

	New cases – Week of Aug. 23-29	Previous week	Cumulative cases since March 2020
Students	5	0	12
Employees	1	1	6
Other	0	0	0

Dashboard is updated daily with available data. Numbers include cases reported through university-coordinated testing, as well as those reported through the COVID-19 Hotline, which may include testing that occurred off-campus through other health clinics/providers. Student employees are counted in the student numbers. The “Other” category is defined as any positive cases reported to UW-Whitewater who are neither students nor employees and may include visitors to the university, contractors or vendors, or others who have been to the university in person.

Regional Metrics

	University Health and Counseling Services 8/16-8/29	Walworth County 8/12-8/25	Rock County 8/12-8/25	Jefferson County
Percent Positive	50% (1 of 2*)	10.95%	4.75%	9.9%
Time to complete contact tracing	100% of contacts are initiated within 48 hours	96% of contacts are initiated within 48 hours	79% of contacts are initiated within 48 hours	Not Available
Healthcare system capacity level	No crisis management of care	No crisis management of care	No crisis management of care	Not Available
Total cases per 100,000	n/a	260	94	220

*UHCS percentage positive is based on PCR testing performed at the University Clinic site of students only.

Additional UW-Whitewater metrics

Capacity for isolating/quarantining individuals on campus

101 of 113 rooms available*

The university is also monitoring the current PPE supply and supply chain, staffing levels across both campuses, and compliance of university safety protocols.

*One room is currently occupied by a general use student, not COVID related.