Brown County’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise

COVID-19 in Brown County continues to spike as health officials and meatpacking plants ramp up testing of employees.

Brown County reported 410 confirmed cases on Wednesday, an increase of 93 cases from the previous day, Brown County Public Health spokeswoman Claire Paprocki told reporters. She said Oneida Nation is at six confirmed cases, an increase of one from the previous day.

Brown County now has the second-highest number of confirmed cases among counties in Wisconsin, according to Department of Health Services data released Wednesday.

“We put some pretty aggressive testing measures in place,” Paprocki said. “That’s going to translate to an increase in cases in our county. That’s also why we’re really asking and pleading with the public to make it their personal mission to practice social distancing.”

A cluster of cases in the county is connected with meatpacking facilities in the area.

There have been 147 cases linked to JBS Packerland, Paprocki said. That includes workers and people who may have contact with employees. Health officials have linked 39 cases to American Foods Group and 19 cases to Salm Partners.

American Foods Group started testing at their facility, and JBS Packerland continues testing, she said.

Wisconsin Health News is removing the password on all stories related to the coronavirus. For the latest developments follow us on Twitter at @wihealthnews or check out our website. For complete healthcare coverage, sign up for a free trial to our daily email newsletter.