From the South Milwaukee and St. Francis Health Department …
The South Milwaukee and St. Fancis Health Department is moving from our Phased Reopening Model to a longer-term plan of Safe Practices Guidelines.
These guidelines align with other suburban municipalities in Milwaukee County, along with the elements outlined in the City of Milwaukee’s Business COVID Safety Plan for restaurants and bars.
The purpose of the realignment is to provide businesses with tools and information on how to reduce risk rather than general occupancy guidelines.
- The guideline cover letter can be read here: http://bit.ly/SMCovidGuideLetter
- The guidelines can be read here: http://bit.ly/SMGuidelines
- A guideline table can be seen here: http://bit.ly/SMGuidelineChart
From the cover letter released Friday …
Over the last month COVID-19 cases in Milwaukee County, South Milwaukee, and St. Francis have been steadily declining. Milwaukee County data are also showing positive trends. In reviewing Gating Criteria for Milwaukee County, three of the five indicators are yellow, including Testing, PPE, and Tracing. The Cases and Care indicators are currently Green, indicating that the percent positive of those tested for COVID-19 is less than 5% and less than 10% of hospitalized patients are COVID-19 positive.
The South Milwaukee/St. Francis Health Department has been working in coordination with the Cudahy and Oak Creek Health Departments to provide vaccinations. Hundreds of residents are being vaccinated each week. While the distribution of vaccine is slower than we had hoped, we will continue to work together to maximize our resources.
While the data show promising trends, new genetic variants of the COVID-19 virus and being largely indoors through the remaining weeks of winter could quickly reverse these trends. The Health Department continues to recommend individuals and the community follow the guidance of wearing face masks, staying at least 6 feet apart, avoiding crowds, washing hands, and getting tested for COVID-19 if you are feeling sick.
The Health Department is moving from our Phased Reopening Model to a longer-term plan of Safe Practices Guidelines. These guidelines align with other suburban municipalities in Milwaukee County, along with the elements outlined in the City of Milwaukee’s Business COVID Safety Plan for restaurant and bars. The purpose of the realignment was to provide businesses with tools and information on how to reduce risk rather than general occupancy guidelines.
Further details on the Safe Practice Guidelines are available here.
Key aspects of the Safe Practice Guidelines include:
- Public gatherings limited to 50 people;
- Occupancy limits for restaurants and bars at a capacity where the number of individuals allows for maintenance of physical distancing and protective measures; and
- Occupancy limits for retail establishments, salons and spa services, gyms and places of amusement where the
- number of individuals allows for maintenance of physical distancing and protective measures.
South Milwaukee Blog 