Author: Sam Buisman
Dane County moved into “Phase 2” of its coronavirus re-opening plan on Monday morning.
Public Health Madison & Dane County executed its order to move into “Phase 2” of its “Forward Dane” plan at 8:00 A.M. on Monday after hitting the necessary public health targets late last week. In this new phase, as long as social distancing can be maintained, all businesses may operate at 50% capacity, indoor gatherings of up to 50 people and outdoor gatherings of up to 100 are permitted, and K-12 and post-secondary schools may resume in-person instruction.
However, Director of Public Health Madison & Dane County Janel Heinrich cautioned that these expanded permissions do not mean that COVID-19 is any less deadly.
“Businesses and workplaces are reopening with required measures to help contain the spread of disease, but COVID-19 is very much still in our community,” wrote Heinrich in a press release. “We need our community to remain vigilant and careful as we move to new phases so we don't see a spike in cases.”
This shift comes a day shy of three weeks after Dane County moved into “Phase 1” of the “Forward Dane” plan. Based on the nullified Badger Bounce Back Plan, “Forward Dane” lays out a gradual re-opening process for Dane County based on its progress in fighting and tracing COVID-19.
“Phase 2” does come with some notable restrictions. During this phase, the county forbids the use of contact sports facilities and saunas or steam rooms at gyms, mandates certain masking and cleaning practices for bars, restaurants and stores, and it does not expand “Phase 1's” 15-child limit on childcare groups.
According to Public Health Madison & Dane County, the county will remain in this phase for at least two weeks, at which time the department will make their decision to move into “Phase 3” based on if the county is meeting its goals for new COVID-19 cases, testing, contact tracing and other metrics.
According to the Department of Health Services, there have been 22,758 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, 956 of which have been in Dane County.
