Dane Co. Emergency Order weakens collection restrictions, increases restaurant capacity

MADISON, Wisconsin (WMTV) – Once Dane County’s current COVID-19 emergency order expires next week, local health officials have introduced a new order, further easing restrictions on individuals and businesses in the county.

“We set ourselves the goal at the beginning of this pandemic with clear goals – to try to minimize illness and death in our community and to reduce the number of people this pandemic has affected the families and health workers we have seen. in too many places in this country “, said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi. These new orders reflect the hope we should all feel as more people are vaccinated and as we approach each day of the last chapters of this pandemic.

The most important of the changes in the Emergency Order no. 14 is the increase of assembly limits for indoor and outdoor assemblies. A gathering with food or drink is limited to 150 people, while a gathering without food or drink is limited to 350 people. An outdoor gathering is limited to 500 people, regardless of the choice of food or drink.

The department has also increased restaurant capacity to 50%, while taverns must limit indoor dining capacity to 25% of approved seating capacity.

In both indoor and outdoor gatherings, health officials are urging people to keep social distances of 6 meters. Individuals must wear face masks at any indoor gathering, but masks are only required at outdoor gatherings if the occupancy exceeds 50 people.

Madison and Dane County Public Health Director Janel Heinrich explained that 18.5% of Dane Co. residents are residents. received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, which shows the progress made by Dane Co.

“But even at our current rate of vaccination, we are already seeing significant and hopeful progress towards our ultimate goal,” Heinrich said during a news conference.

In its statement, Public Health Madison & Dane Co. detailed and highlighted the major changes from the previous order to the new one.

  • A gathering inside where food or drink is offered or offered is limited to 150 people. An assembly in which no food or drink is offered or offered is limited to 350 people. Individuals must maintain a physical distance of 6 feet and face coverings are required.
  • An outdoor gathering is limited to 500 people. Individuals must maintain a physical distance of 6 feet. Face coverings required for gatherings of more than 50 people.
  • The requirements of the policy on school protection measures have been updated and include elements on covering the faces of employees and distance, distance for students and groups of students.
  • Restaurants can open their capacity by up to 50%.
  • Taverns must limit indoor dining capacity to 25% of approved seating capacity levels. Space tables and chairs to ensure a physical distance of at least six (6) feet between customers who are not members of the same household or housing unit.

Parisi quoted the “Night Light” event on Monday night, during Tuesday’s press conference, noting that today’s emergency order may look to the future.

“Last night, we came together as a community to acknowledge the hardships and sacrifices we have all endured as individuals and as a community over the past year. Today we can look to the future with cautious optimism and hope as we continue the process of progressive and careful reopening of our economy and our community. “

Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway supported the new order, but said residents must remain vigilant when it comes to protecting themselves against COVID-19.

“Public health orders are designed to work at the population level to protect vulnerable people, to preserve the capacity of the hospital, to suppress diseases and to prevent deaths,” the mayor said. “As an individual or family, you may need to make stricter choices based on your risky comfort.”

The order enters into force at 12:01 on Wednesday morning, March 10 and will remain in force for 28 days.

The following provisions are unchanged between the previous order and the most recent order:

  • Face covering is required in enclosed buildings, while driving with people who are not part of your household and outdoors in a restaurant or tavern. The types of face coatings allowed have been updated to reflect the new CDC recommendations.
  • Businesses continue to be limited to 50% of approved construction capacity and must implement written cleaning and hygiene policies.
  • Provisions for continuing education and higher education institutions, industry-specific requirements, health care, public health, human services, infrastructure, production, government and religious entities and groups remain unchanged.

February’s order

The previous order increased the number of people who were allowed to gather at local businesses, with lids between 25-100, depending on whether or not the business served food and whether the gathering takes place indoors or outdoors.

It also opened the door to games and competitions for games and competitions and exceeded the limit for childcare and kindergarten groups. The February 8 order, which came into force two days later, was due to expire on March 10, except for a replacement order.

At the time, Heinrich said she was “hopeful” that her agency would be able to continue to do so in the coming months.

Dane County diagram showing the number of new cases starting with March 1, 2021.
Dane County diagram showing the number of new cases starting with March 1, 2021.(Public Health Madison & Dane Co.)

New cases collapsing

When the order was issued, an average of over one hundred new cases of COVID-19 were reported each day. Since then, the seven-day average has almost halved from 111.3 per day to 56.70 cases per day, according to the latest PHMDC figures.

At its peak in November, Dane averaged nearly 500 cases a day.

Coinciding with the new restrictions, Dane Co. officials they also launched a new Forward Dane plan outlining how the county intends to reopen.

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