Dane County Executive Joe Parisi issued the following statement regarding advice today from the County’s Public Health Director that schools not re-open right now, given the high prevalence of Covid-19 in the community:

“Our area has seen an incredible surge in Covid-19 activity in the past 10 days, so much so we now have the sad distinction of being among the dozen fastest growing communities in the country for new cases. This is not where we want to be, nor where we were at any point in this pandemic until recently.

“Today, Dane County attorneys presented the Wisconsin Supreme Court with additional statutory references that discuss a public health officer’s authority as it relates to schools. While the legal process will answer questions relating to the law, there is no ambiguity as to what is best for public health – people need to socially distance and take strict precautions if we are to slow the community spread that’s occurring.

“I strongly encourage schools to follow the Public Health Director’s recommendation and not return to in-person education for third grade and older at this time.

“As we have seen with a number of school districts outside of Dane County in the past week, Covid-19 is not limited to urban areas. There are high levels of the virus in our state and we need to double our efforts now at preventing its spread. “

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