Saturday, December 18, 2021

In Wisconsin, Covid cases are spiking in Rock County and hospitals are overwhelmed

 

 In Rock County (pop. 163,687), the number of new Covid cases increased more than 67% in the past week.  And the county has already 624 cases this week.  Weekend numbers are likely to raise it above 800.


WI Department of Health Services

65% of Rock County residents are fully vaccinated compared to 61% statewide.  


New York Times


Rock County set a new record for highest 7-day average of new Covid cases on December 16, 2021.  That average of 2 cases in late June and early July probably seems like a mirage now.


New York Times

This WMTV headline is from a month ago.




Related posts:
Burnett County.  (11/27/2021)
Brown County.  (12/3/2021)
Clark County.  (11/9/2021)
Dodge County.  (12/9/2021 update)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)
Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)
Green County.  (12/1/2021)
Iowa County.  (12/17/2021)
Jackson County.  (12/12/2021)
Jefferson County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
La Crosse County.  (12/12/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (12/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (12/18/2021 update)
Milwaukee County.  (11/30/2021)
Monroe County.  (11/24/2021)
Outagamie County.  (12/11/2021)
Polk County.  (11/27/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Racine County.  (12/13/2021)
Saui County.  (12/17/2021)
Sawyer County.  (12/17/2021 update)
Shawano County.  (12/4/2021)
Taylor County.  (12/17/2021)
Washbutn County.  (11/9/2021)
Waupaca County.  (11/27/2021)
Waushara County.  (12/18/2021)
Winnebago County.  (12/11/2021)
Wood County.  (11/24/2021)

In Wisconsin, Waushara County still has too many unvaaccinated residents

 

 In Waushara County (pop. 24,520), the number of new Covid cases increased more than 300% in the past 2 weeks.

WI Department of Health Services

42% of Waushara County residents are fully vaccinated compared to 61% statewide.  Not good.



Waushara County is nowhere near its record high 7-day average of new Covid cases set on November 6, 2020 but has experienced two significant spikes since early October 2021.


Based on the healdlines and pics from the web edition of the Waushara Argus, it might as well be 2019 in Waushara County.


Click on 'CORONAVIRUS STORIES' link and you'll find the 3 most recent articles are dated November 24, October 13, and July 21. 

Related posts:
Burnett County.  (11/27/2021)
Brown County.  (12/3/2021)
Clark County.  (11/9/2021)
Dodge County.  (12/9/2021 update)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)
Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)
Green County.  (12/1/2021)
Iowa County.  (12/17/2021)
Jackson County.  (12/12/2021)
Jefferson County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
La Crosse County.  (12/12/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (12/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (12/18/2021 update)
Milwaukee County.  (11/30/2021)
Monroe County.  (11/24/2021)
Outagamie County.  (12/11/2021)
Polk County.  (11/27/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Racine County.  (12/13/2021)
Saui County.  (12/17/2021)
Sawyer County.  (12/17/2021 update)
Shawano County.  (12/4/2021)
Taylor County.  (12/17/2021)
Washbutn County.  (11/9/2021)
Waupaca County.  (11/27/2021)
Winnebago County.  (12/11/2021)
Wood County.  (11/24/2021)

In Wisconsin, Marinette County has been on fire with the virus since the end of summer and schools are feeling the impact

 


50% of Marinette County residents are fully vaccinated compared to 60% statewide.


Marinette County came very close to beating its highest 7-day average of new Covid cases in October 2021.


Four months of elevated case counts is wreaking havoc on some school districts, such as the Goodman-Armstrong Creek SD in Marinette County.

December 7, 2021.  


Due to staff illness and a lack of substitute teachers school will be closed today, Tuesday, Dec. 7. Again school will be closed today. I will be monitoring the situation to decide if we will be closed tomorrow as well. I will inform families and staff as soon as I know if that change needs to be made. If you have any questions you may call the high school office 715-336-2575, Extension 203 and leave a voice message. I will return your call. Thank you.

December 8


December 9.  
The GAC Holiday Concert has been rescheduled for Wednesday, December 15 at 6:30pm. The regular school board meeting that night will therefore start at 5:00pm instead of its normal 6:30 start. Remember: 6:00pm- Middle and High School students meet in the band room. 6:15pm- Elementary students should meet in the high school art room to get their props and line up. After elementary students perform they can sit with their parents.

December 18


The Holiday Concert has been rescheduled for Wednesday, January 5, 2022, at 6:30PM. Families who haven't yet donated items/gift baskets for the raffle can still bring them in by January 4th. Elementary students report to the High School Art room at 6:15p.m and MS/HS students should report to the band room at 6:00p.m.

Related posts:
Burnett County.  (11/27/2021)
Brown County.  (12/3/2021)
Clark County.  (11/9/2021)
Dodge County.  (12/9/2021 update)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)
Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)
Green County.  (12/1/2021)
Iowa County.  (12/17/2021)
Jackson County.  (12/12/2021)
Jefferson County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
La Crosse County.  (12/12/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (12/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (11/9/2021)
Milwaukee County.  (11/30/2021)
Monroe County.  (11/24/2021)
Outagamie County.  (12/11/2021)
Polk County.  (11/27/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Racine County.  (12/13/2021)
Sauk County.  (12/17/2021)
Sawyer County.  (12/17/2021 update)
Shawano County.  (12/4/2021)
Taylor County.  (12/17/2021)
Washbutn County.  (11/9/2021)
Waupaca County.  (11/27/2021)
Winnebago County.  (12/11/2021)
Wood County.  (11/24/2021)

Original 11/9/2021 post starts here

Wisconsin Department of Health Services


The percentage of county resident fully vaccinated is 10 percentage points lower than the state average of 59%.


New York Times

Marinette County is no. 1 (of 72) on the Wisconsin Hot Spots hit parade.



The Marinette County Public Health Covid homepage is nothing but links.



 

Friday, December 17, 2021

Dear Amy Swearer, A "free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values" think tank dedicated to White Privilege should never use the phrase 'open mind'. Best, Retiring Guy



The acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse last month on charges related to his Aug. 25, 2020, shooting of three white men during a chaotic night of destructive civil unrest in Kenosha should have surprised no one who watched the trial with an open mind and a basic understanding of self-defense laws. Yet countless blue-check pundits on social media lost their collective minds in a race-baiting game of “What if Rittenhouse were black?”
Meet Amy Swearer, masked up and 
ready to do her due racist diligence

This is how low ultra-conservatives have stooped in their fundraising efforts.  24/7 racism.


Original 7/17/2020 post, "Did he really say 'alas'?", starts here.

Yup!

Photo credit:  The Heritage Foundation

Reported in Supreme Court Expansion of Transgender Rights Undercuts Trump Restrictions.  (The New York Times, 6/15/2020)

The Heritage Foundation has always been about promoting white privilege.


Taylor County Wisconsin LOVES Trump Kool-Aid

 


Since the pandemic began, 26 of the hospital's COVID-19 patients have died. As of Friday, 106 of the 137 COVID-19 patients [77%] at Aspirus' 17 hospitals in Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula were not fully vaccinated, including at least 39 of the 43 [91%] in intensive care. 
But Faude said many people in the area distrust health care workers. Some demand that their loved ones be treated with ivermectin, an anti-parasite livestock pill that doctors say is not suitable for humans with COVID-19, she said. Skepticism of vaccination seems entrenched, she said. 
“They feel like it’s this big hoax that the government is trying to push on people, and so they don’t trust where the vaccine’s coming from or the intentions behind it,” Faude said. [emphasis added]

glugglugglugglugglugglugglugglugglugglugglug



Related post:
In Wisconsin, Taylor County is awash with unvaccinated Trumpy COVIDIOTS and on fire with the virus.  (12/17/2021


In Wisconsin, Sauk County health care workers are 'burning the candle at both ends'

 

 In Sauk County (pop. 65,763), the number of new Covid cases increased more than 100% in the past week.


WI Department of Health Services

60% of Sauk County residents are fully vaccinated compared to 61% statewide.



Sauk County is fast approaching its record high 7-day average of new Covid cases set on November 12, 2021.



Madison,com, 12/17/2021
At Sauk Prairie Healthcare in Prairie du Sac, about 25 miles northwest of Madison, CEO Shawn Lerch pointed to another way to measure the impact: in blood gas kits, used to measure oxygen levels in blood, a key indicator of how coronavirus patients are doing. The hospital typically uses 20 of the kits per month. 
“Right now, we’re using 20 per day,” Lerch said. “Our teams have gone to heroic measures to ensure that safety and quality is maintained, but it’s not sustainable. We are burning the candle at both ends, and then some.”


Related posts:
Burnett County.  (11/27/2021)
Brown County.  (12/3/2021)
Clark County.  (11/9/2021)
Dodge County.  (12/9/2021 update)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)
Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)
Green County.  (12/1/2021)
Iowa County.  (12/17/2021)
Jackson County.  (12/12/2021)
Jefferson County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
La Crosse County.  (12/12/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (12/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (11/9/2021)
Milwaukee County.  (11/30/2021)
Monroe County.  (11/24/2021)
Outagamie County.  (12/11/2021)
Polk County.  (11/27/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Racine County.  (12/13/2021)
Sawyer County.  (12/17/2021 update)
Shawano County.  (12/4/2021)
Taylor County.  (12/17/2021)
Washbutn County.  (11/9/2021)
Waupaca County.  (11/27/2021)
Winnebago County.  (12/11/2021)
Wood County.  (11/24/2021)

In Wisconsin, Trumpy Sawyer County has been on fire with the virus for the past three months

    

After a sharp drop, the number of new Covid cases in Sawyer County has increase 50% in the past two weeks.


57% of Sawyer County residents are fully vaccinated compared with 61% statewide.


Sawyer County set a record for highest 7-day average of new Covid cases on November 11, 2021.  Its current 7-day is the same as it was a year ago.



Hayward Area Memorial Hospital, about 110 miles northwest of Medford, is experiencing similar strain. Emergency room visits are up 47% this year, and inpatient volume last month was 59% higher than November 2020, said CEO Luke Beirl. 
He is struggling to fill 60 job openings, many in direct patient care. “We thought last year was challenging,” Beirl said. “It’s nothing compared to this year.”

 

Original 11/9/2021 post starts here

Number of new cases is up 50% from previous week.


The percentage of county residents fully vaccinated is 5 percentage points below the state average of 59%.  (26.7% of residents are 65 and older.)

New York Times

Sawyer County is no. 3 (of 72) on the Wisconsin Hot Spots hit parade.



Screenshot from Sawyer County Public Health Covid homepage.


Related posts:
Burnett County.  (11/27/2021)
Brown County.  (12/3/2021)
Clark County.  (11/9/2021)
Dodge County.  (12/9/2021 update)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)
Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)
Green County.  (12/1/2021)
Iowa County.  (12/17/2021)
Jackson County.  (12/12/2021)
Jefferson County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
La Crosse County.  (12/12/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (12/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (11/9/2021)
Milwaukee County.  (11/30/2021)
Monroe County.  (11/24/2021)
Outagamie County.  (12/11/2021)
Polk County.  (11/27/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Racine County.  (12/13/2021)
Sawyer County.  (11/9/2021)
Shawano County.  (12/4/2021)
Taylor County.  (12/17/2021)
Washbutn County.  (11/9/2021)
Waupaca County.  (11/27/2021)
Winnebago County.  (12/11/2021)
Wood County.  (11/24/2021)

In Wisconsin, an Iowa County health care facility just experienced its worst week ever since the start of the pandemic

 

 In Iowa County (pop. 23,709), the number of new Covid cases per week has increased 150% during the past month.


Although 66% of Iowa County residents are fully vaccinated, its number of new Covid cases continues 

\



Although Iowa County is well below its Novmeber 13 peak, its current 7-day average of new Covid cases is as high as it's been since the same time in December last year.



New York Times


Madison,com, 12/17/2021
“Last week was the worst we have ever seen in the whole pandemic,” said Lisa Schnedler, CEO of Upland Hills Health in Dodgeville. “We’re just holding our breath to see what happens next, particularly with Christmas, New Year’s and now this new variant." 


Related posts:
Burnett County.  (11/27/2021)
Brown County.  (12/3/2021)
Clark County.  (11/9/2021)
Dodge County.  (12/9/2021 update)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)
Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)
Green County.  (12/1/2021)]
Jackson County.  (12/12/2021)
Jefferson County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
La Crosse County.  (12/12/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (12/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (11/9/2021)
Milwaukee County.  (11/30/2021)
Monroe County.  (11/24/2021)
Outagamie County.  (12/11/2021)
Polk County.  (11/27/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Racine County.  (12/13/2021)
Sawyer County.  (11/9/2021)
Shawano County.  (12/4/2021)
Taylor County.  (12/17/2021)
Washbutn County.  (11/9/2021)
Waupaca County.  (11/27/2021)
Winnebago County.  (12/11/2021)
Wood County.  (11/24/2021)


In Wisconsin, Taylor County is awash with unvaccinated Trumpy COVIDIOTS and on fire with the virus


Taylor County (pop. 19,913) has reported a consistently high number of new Covid cases for the past 4 months.




What worse is that Taylor County is the least vaccinated county in Wisconsin.  Just 33% of residents are fully vaccinated compared to 61% statewide



New York Times (and below)

It is also one of the Trumpiest counties in Wisconsin.


So naturally, the hospital in the county seat of Medford is in crisis mode.

Madison,com, 12/17/2021
Amanda Keeling, a nurse who grew up in Medford and moved back after going to school in Oshkosh and working in Green Bay, said some friends and family don’t believe her when she says the steady stream of COVID-19 patients is wearing her and other nurses out. There’s little interest in discussing how more vaccination could make the situation more manageable, she said.  
“Last year, we were heroes,” Keeling said. “This year, people don’t want to hear us talk about it ... I don’t think people want to be told what to do.” 


Related posts:
Burnett County.  (11/27/2021)
Brown County.  (12/3/2021)
Clark County.  (11/9/2021)
Dodge County.  (12/9/2021 update)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)
Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)
Green County.  (12/1/2021)]
Jackson County.  (12/12/2021)
Jefferson County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
La Crosse County.  (12/12/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (12/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (11/9/2021)
Milwaukee County.  (11/30/2021)
Monroe County.  (11/24/2021)
Outagamie County.  (12/11/2021)
Polk County.  (11/27/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Racine County.  (12/13/2021)
Sawyer County.  (11/9/2021)
Shawano County.  (12/4/2021)
Washbutn County.  (11/9/2021)
Waupaca County.  (11/27/2021)
Winnebago County.  (12/11/2021)
Wood County.  (11/24/2021)

LOCK THEM UP: Mark Meadows and his scary band of insurgents



New York Times, 12/15/2021
The lawmakers — all of them members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus [Crazies]— worked closely with the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, whose central role in Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn a democratic election is coming into focus as the congressional investigation into Jan. 6 gains traction. 
The men were not alone in their efforts — most Republican lawmakers fell in line behind Mr. Trump’s false claims of fraud, at least rhetorically — but this circle moved well beyond words and into action. They bombarded the Justice Department with dubious claims of voting irregularities. They pressured members of state legislatures to conduct audits that would cast doubt on the election results. They plotted to disrupt the certification on Jan. 6 of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory.

Mark Meadows is the founder of the group of House Crazies otherwise known as the Freedom Caucus.

He is not a normal person and shouldn't be treated as such.


12/13/2021 update, "Trump coup participants Mark Meadows and Phil Waldron", starts here.


According to one slide from the presentation that Trump’s top aide, then-chief of staff Mark Meadows, viewed and later turned over to congressional investigators, the president would endorse a bat guano-crazy conspiracy about Chinese interference in the 2020 presidential election as a pretext to declare all electronic votes invalid.   
[snip]
The Washington Post reported Saturday that the originator of the PowerPoint plan appears to be a Texas-based retired Army colonel (who, interestingly, specialized in psyops) named Phil Waldron, who’d managed to first get his ideas and then himself woven into Trump’s inner circle, including a close relationship with the president’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. While Waldron hasn’t been a household name, he told the Post he visited the White House multiple times in the days after the November 2020 election, met personally with Meadows and was part of those critical pre-Jan. 6 briefings on Capitol Hill. Waldron also said he met personally with Trump and “several Pennsylvania legislators” in the Oval Office last Nov. 25 — a matter that maybe the Pennsylvania legislature or someone in my home state should investigate, no?

 

12/12/2021 update starts here

86% white men
12% white women
  2% persons of color

New York Times, 1/7/2021


10/25/2021 update, "Key players in pressure campaign to subvert the 2020 election", starts here.


"Letters from an American" by Heather Cox Richardson (10/24/2021; email subcription)
The story says that two sources who are talking to the January 6th committee about planning the January rallies in Washington, D.C., have talked to Rolling Stone as well. They say they worked with congressional lawmakers and White House officials to plan rallies both in Washington, D.C., and around the country. They deny that they intended to storm the Capitol and imply they got used, which points to the sources being from within Women for America First, the organization that sponsored a bus tour and rallies around the country before heading to Washington for January 6. 
They allegedly named Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Mo Brooks (R-AL), Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Louie Gohmert (R-TX), as people with whom they planned. They also claim that Gosar promised them a blanket presidential pardon, although they do not say for what.

10/24/2021 update starts here


Excerpt from "Letters from an American" by Heather Cox Richardson (10/13/2021)
Tonight’s third story is that former president Trump’s loyalists set up a “command center” in mid-December at Washington, D.C.’s famous Willard Hotel to try to overturn the election. Those meeting to come up with a scheme to overturn the will of the voters included John Eastman, who wrote the memo outlining how Vice President Mike Pence could refuse to count the electors for certain states and thus throw the election to Trump; Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani; adviser Stephen K. Bannon; former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik, a convicted felon pardoned by Trump; One America News reporter Christina Bobb; and Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn.  [bold added]


Original October 8 post starts here


From "Letters from an American" by Heather Cox Richardson, 10/7/2021:

The report points to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows as a key player in the attempt to subvert the DOJ, and it singles out a number of other officials as participants in the pressure campaign. Those people include Jeffrey Bossert Clark from within the DOJ, whom Trump tried to install as acting attorney general to push his demands; Representative Scott Perry (R-PA); Doug Mastriano, a Republican state senator from Pennsylvania; and Cleta Mitchell, a legal adviser to the Trump campaign. The draft report also notes that under Attorney General William Barr, the DOJ “deviated from longstanding practice” when it began to investigate allegations of fraud before the votes were certified. [bold red added]
The report concludes that the efforts to subvert the DOJ were part of Trump’s attempt “to retain the presidency by any means necessary,” a process that “without a doubt” “created the disinformation ecosystem necessary for Trump to incite almost 1000 Americans to breach the Capitol in a violent attempt to subvert democracy by stopping the certification of a free and fair election.”