The CVPost is making available a link to the “Wisconsin Watch ” roundup of state developments in response to the coronavirus pandemic. For access please click on the headline.
Digital divide faces rural school districts providing virtual classes
By Peter Cameron, Wisconsin Watch
On Sept. 1, when many Wisconsin public schools will reopen, some will offer online-only instruction to avoid spreading COVID-19.
State law in Wisconsin allows each school district to determine the operations of their buildings and their learning environment, including how to manage during the pandemic. How well these efforts will go in rural areas with slow internet or spotty cellphone access – or urban schools where students can’t afford high-speed hookups – remains an open question.
What seems clear is that the prospect of virtual schooling is particularly daunting for rural families in Wisconsin, where 43% of rural areas lack broadband coverage – far more than the national average of 31%.
To read more, please click on the headline.
Dunn County nonprofits tell of adjustments during COVID-19 pandemic
By Dominic Yates, reporting intern
Two Dunn County nonprofit organizations providing support for people in need of food and shelter have made adjustments during the COVID-19 pandemic to assure that they can continue helping Dunn County residents.
Stepping Stones, which provides two types of direct assistance, has switched to curbside food pickups. It has also seen a doubling of requests for it to provide shelter.
United Way of Dunn County, which provides indirect support through its funding of various local nonprofits, has utilized disaster relief funds received previously in an effort to keep local non-profits funded.
To read more, click on the headline.
Dunn County Health Department warns of potential COVID-19 exposure for July 28-29 taxi service patrons
The Dunn County Health Department has issued an alert regarding potential exposure to COVID-19 by anyone who used a local taxi service within the Menomonie city limits on the evenings of July 28 and 29.
The department press release didn’t name the taxi company, identifying it only as a “local taxi service within Menomonie city limits that only accepts cash.” It said that anyone who used this taxi service on either evening and who is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should get tested for possible coronavirus infection.
To read more, please click on the headline.
Experts call for more COVID-19 testing to use state’s full capacity
By Bram Sable-Smith, WPR/Wisconsin
Wisconsin has dramatically expanded its capacity to test for COVID-19 in the past four months but experts say too few state residents are showing up to be tested.
This situation has the potential to thwart efforts to neutralize the virus that killed at least 831 people in the state as of Thursday.
Wisconsin has 83 labs that can perform more than 24,000 total tests each day, about seven times the capacity available on April 1. But the state typically uses less than half of its reported capacity, according to state health officials.
To read more, please click on the headline
Community foundations and United Way to offer COVID-19 grants to aid Chippewa Valley nonprofits
Two community foundations and United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley have announced a funding partnership to help local nonprofits deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, with total grants of more than $700,000.
The Eau Claire Community Foundation (ECCF), the Community Foundation of Chippewa County (CFCC) and United Way will each offer its own grant opportunities but will collaborate in making funding decisions. The cooperative effort is aimed at ensuring that funds they distribute will best serve Chippewa Valley needs as a whole during the pandemic, according to a press release.
To read more, click on the headine.