DHS Supports New CDC Community Level Metrics
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) supports the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) metrics used to determine the severity of COVID-19 in communities. With widespread access to vaccines and testing, available treatment options, and high levels of population immunity, a new approach to monitoring and preventing COVID-19 is necessary. On February 25, 2022, the CDC released new COVID-19 Community Levels to help communities and individuals make decisions about prevention strategies and behaviors that more accurately reflect the goals of this new approach. COVID-19 Community Levels are determined using three key metrics:
- The number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days.
- New COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 population in the past 7 days.
- The average percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients in the past 7 days.
Regardless of where you live, the CDC and DHS recommend that everyone stay on COVID-19 vaccines. It is also recommended that everyone continue to wear a mask around others and get tested for COVID-19 if they are experiencing symptoms or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. We urge all Wisconsinites to continue using a combination of COVID-19 prevention strategies that will allow us to continue with our daily lives while keeping community members safe and healthy.
The new COVID-19 Community Levels do not apply to healthcare settings, such as hospitals and nursing homes. Instead, healthcare settings should continue to use community transmission rates and continue to follow CDC’s infection prevention and control recommendations for healthcare settings.
Additional talking points, including comparisons of the new CDC Community Levels to prior CDC Community Transmission Levels as well as DHS Disease Activity Levels are available on the PCA Portal COVID-19 Resources under the Local and Tribal Health Department Resources topic.
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