Community Corner

Coronavirus: Guidance For Large Gatherings In Appleton Related To COVID-19

"Our Health Department is providing guidance that goes along with the ban on gatherings of 50 people or more."

News Desk, News Partner

From the City of Appleton:

Postee 3/16/2020

Our Health Department is providing guidance that goes along with the ban on gatherings of 50 people or more that was mandated by the State Monday.

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Order of Public Health for the City of Appleton

UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF WIS. STATS. §252.03, THE PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER OF APPLETON

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ORDERS THE FOLLOWING:

  1. Effective as of 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, and continuing until further notice, public and private Mass Gatherings, defined below, are hereby prohibited in the City of Appleton.
  2. Definitions:
    1. For purposes of this Order, a “Mass Gathering” is any event or convening, subject to the exceptions listed below, that brings together or is likely to bring together fifty

      (50) or more people in a single room or single confined or enclosed space at the same time, such as, by way of example and without limitation, public schools, private schools, charter schools, an auditorium, stadium, arena, conference room, meeting hall, theater, movie theater, exhibition center, museum, taverns, health/fitness and recreational centers, licensed pools, place of worship and religious gathering centers, and any other space where people are present and they are within arm’s length of one another for more than ten (10) minutes.

  • The locations listed below are not included in the definition of “Mass Gathering”. This exemption does not apply to meeting facilities, conference rooms, event spaces or banquet halls within these locations.
    1. Appleton International Airport;
    2. Public, private, and charter schools only for noninstructional purposes, such as medication pickup, childcare services, providing meals, and when operating as polling places;
    3. Childcare locations (including those that operate within a facility that is otherwise prohibited);
    4. Hotels and motels as long as the restaurant guidelines, listed below in sub. xiv, are followed;
    5. Correctional facilities;
    6. Shelter facilities, including day centers, for individuals and families;
    7. Detoxification center;
    8. Residential buildings;
    9. Shopping malls and other retail establishments where large numbers of people are present but are generally not within arm’s length of one another for more than ten (10) minutes;
    10. Hospitals, medical facilities, and pharmacies;
    11. Long-term care facilities as long as the guidelines listed below are followed:
      1. Restrict all visitation except for compassionate care situations, such as end of life situations;
      2. Restrict all volunteers and non-essential Healthcare Personnel (HCP);
      3. Cancel all group activities and communal dining; and
      4. Implement active screening of residents and HCP for fever and respiratory symptoms.
    12. Libraries;
    13. Senior Centers only for the service of meals as long as the guidelines listed below are followed:
      1. Preserve social distancing of six (6) feet between tables, booths, bar, stools, and ordering counters;
      2. Cease self-service operations of salad bars and buffets; and
      3. Prohibit consumers from self-dispensing all unpackaged foods.
    14. Restaurants as long as the guidelines listed below are followed:
      1. Operate at fifty (50) percent of seating capacity;
      2. Preserve social distancing of six (6) feet between tables, booths, bar stools, and ordering counters;
      3. Cease self-service operations of salad bars and buffets; and
      4. Prohibit customers from self-dispensing all unpackaged food.
    15. Retail food establishments (grocery stores, convenience stores, farmer’s markets) as long as the guidelines listed below are followed:
      1. If seating is offered, must operate at fifty (50) percent of seating capacity;
      2. Preserve social distancing of six (6) feet between tables, booths, bar stools, and ordering counters;
      3. Cease self-service operations of salad bars and buffets; and
      4. Prohibit customers from self-dispensing all unpackaged food.
    16. Office spaces; and
    17. Public transportation.
  • Events or convenings, not listed above in sub. (b), that bring together or are likely to bring together fifty (50) or fewer people in a single room or single confined or enclosed space at the same time, must comply with the following:
    1. Operate at fifty (50) percent of seating capacity; and
    2. Preserve social distancing of six (6) feet between people.
  • This Order is issued based on evidence of increasing transmission of COVID-19, scientific evidence regarding the most effective approaches to slow the transmission of communicable diseases generally and COVID-19 specifically, and best practices as currently known and available to protect vulnerable members of the public from avoidable risk of serious illness or death resulting from exposure to COVID-19. Although most people who contract COVID-19 do not become seriously ill, people with mild symptoms and asymptomatic people with COVID-19 may place other vulnerable members of the public at significant risk.
  • This Order will reduce the likelihood that many people will be exposed to COVID-19 at a single event, and will thereby slow the spread of COVID-19 within the City of Appleton. By reducing the spread of COVID-19, this Order will help preserve critical and limited healthcare capacity.
  • This Order is issued in light of the existence of several cases of COVID-19 within the Fox Cities region, including a significant and increasing number of assumed cases of community transmission nationwide.
  • This Order is issued to prevent circumstances often present in mass gatherings that may exacerbate the spread of COVID-19, such as: the increased likelihood that mass gatherings will attract people from broad geographic areas who could be infected; the prolonged time period in which large numbers of people are in close proximity and could be exposed to COVID-19; and the difficulty in tracing exposure when large numbers of people attend a single event.
  • This Order comes after the release of substantial guidance from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other public health officials throughout the United States and around the world.
  • The Public Health Officer will continue to assess the quickly evolving situation and may modify this Order, or issue additional Orders, related to COVID-19. The Public Health Officer is supportive of any event that chooses to voluntarily restrict attendees to fewer than fifty (50).
  • All events or convenings, regardless of size of attendees, are encouraged to take the following precautionary steps:
    1. Older adults, pregnant women, people with weakened immune systems, and people with underlying health conditions that are at increased risk of COVID-19 are encouraged not to attend (including employees);
    2. Provide sanitation and prevention hygiene resources to all attendees and employees; and
    3. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
  • This Order shall become effective at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, and will continue until further notice or amended in writing by the Public Health Officer. This Order supersedes all previous Orders by the Public Health Officer.

    • IT IS SO ORDERED.

    Kurt Eggebrecht Public Health Officer

    This press release was produced by the City of Appleton. The views expressed here are the author’s own.

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