Clark Co. hears COVID concerns

Complaints about Clark County’s handling of COVID-19 came before the county’s board of health on Tuesday, with several residents pushing back against what they see as overly burdensome quarantine and contact tracing rules.

After hearing an update from public health nurse Brittany Mews — who said that county has seen an increase of 90 active COVID cases since the board’s last meet on Oct. 19 — several people expressed concerns about the health department’s efforts to mitigate the spread of the disease.

County board supervisor Fred Schindler of Curtiss said he does a lot of business with the Amish and Mennonite communities and respects how they’ve gone on living their lives despite COVID.

Schindler said plainclothes community members have developed “herd immunity” by continuing to attend large gatherings, drinking from communal cups and not relying on vaccinations.

Instead of depending on the government to control the spread of the disease, Schindler said individuals should be free to choose how they boost their immune systems. He mentioned taking ivermectin, a horse dewormer whose use been discouraged by the Centers for Disease Control and other government entities.

“COVID is not going to take away my God-given American freedom of choice,” he said.

Schindler also said he is not afraid to die from COVID, as “I make my peace with God every morning.”

Mike Jakel of Abbotsford questioned why Clark County was doing contact tracing and quarantining people who have not tested positive for COVID-19 when neighboring Marathon County is not doing the same.

“They provide the schools and the employers with the recommendations of the CDC and the state health department and allow them to determine the policies that are best for their situation,” he said.

Jakel said the county’s quarantine rules caused his daughter to be stuck at home for two consecutive 14-day periods last school year because she was considered a “close contact” to someone with COVID-19.

“She was out of school for a full month,” he said. “Never once was she sick.”

As a middle school football coach, Jakel said his players never got a chance to play a game with a full roster because of contact-tracing quarantines.

“We tell them they can’t play because someone in their class tested positive,” he said. “So, they put the work in. Now, they don’t see the reward for the actual work they put into it.”

During a presentation to the board, Mews said the Clark County Health Department is a public health entity that must “follow and reinforce” the “guiding principles” of the CDC and Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

“We may, by statute, do what is reasonable and necessary for the prevention and suppression of disease,” she said.

Mews cited state statute 252.03, which lays out the duties of public health offi cers such as herself. According to that statute, if a local health authority fails to enforce statutes and rules regarding communicable diseases, the state health department could take over enforcement and bill the county for the costs.

Mews also cited laws regarding the restrictions placed on those who have tested positive for a communicable disease such as COVID-19.

“No person who is knowingly infected with a communicable disease may willingly violate the recommendations of a local health officer or subject others to danger of contracting the disease,” she read.

Under county ordinance, Mews said citations can be issued to those who do not comply with a public health order.

Mews compared herself to a school superintendent or a supervising nurse at a hospital — tasked with carrying out the policies set by state and federal health authorities.

“It’s my job to follow those guiding principles,” she said. “I don’t make those guiding principals. We have medical experts in those entities who make those policy decisions and those statutes.”

Marshfield attorney Martin Machtan said he believes the administrative rules for isolating COVID cases in Clark County are “overly broad” and contrary to the law. He also said it’s his opinion that the county’s disease ordinance and state statute 252.03 “would likely be struck down by a court” if challenged.

“There can be differences of opinion when it comes to what’s legal,” he said. “We see directives being struck down by courts every day.”

Beyond the legality issues, Machtan said so many people showed up to Tuesday’s meeting because they have deep misgivings about the county’s COVID-19 protocols.

“In our bones, we just feel that something’s wrong, that something’s not right,” he said. “I think it’s important to listen to that instinct.”

Travis Serocki, chief of the Owen-Withee-Curtiss Fire Department, provided the perspective of local EMTs who are seeing an alarming rise in medical calls due to COVID-19. He said at least twice in the last month, all three of the department’s ambulances have been called out at once.

“We’re seeing unprecedented numbers of blood clots and other issues after people have had COVID, in their recovery period,” he said.

Serocki said ambulances are also having to travel further after being diverted by area hospitals that are at or near capacity due to the rise in COVID hospitalizations. He said he witnessed a cardiac patient in need of a triple bypass die because the hospital didn’t have room to care for him in time.

“I just want to make everybody aware that EMS is feeling this strain, as well as the general public,” he said.

Brandon Haas, a town of Fremont resident, said he understands how serious COVID-19 is to the elderly and other vulnerable populations, but he also pointed out how disruptive the quarantine rules can be to people trying to live their lives.

For six of the last eight weeks, Haas said his kids have not been able to attend daycare because of COVID protocols. He said this makes it “damn hard” for him to work and earn money so he can pay taxes.

“Where does this all end, or do we just live with this tyranny over our lives for the rest of our lives?” he wondered.

Terri Domaszek, the county comptroller, said she is concerned about the high number of hospitalizations — 19.4 percent — among active cases in Clark County.

“That is a huge percentage,” she said. Domaszek said she got vaccinated in April and got a booster shot at the beginning of the month, and she appreciates this very much because both her daughter and granddaughter contracted COVID- 19 during a time when she was in close contact with them.

“I’m so glad I had the choice of the vaccine,” she said.

With the relatively low vaccination rate in Clark County, Domaszek said she doesn’t always feel comfortable exposing herself to public places within the county.

“I like to go where I feel safe, so I choose sometimes to shop in other counties because I feel safer in those counties than I do in Clark County,” she said.

As of Monday, Clark County has had a total of 4,994 confirmed cases since March 2020, an increase of 720 cases since the committee’s last meeting on Oct. 19, according to Mews. The number of COVID-related deaths in Clark County has risen to 82, an increase of 12 since last month.

Of the 175 active cases, she said 34 of those people have been hospitalized.

“One out of every five individuals who has currently tested positive are now admitted to the hospital,” she said.