Dane County mask mandate extended until March due to high COVID-19 case counts

MADISON, Wis. — Dane County’s mask mandate will remain in place until the start of March, according to the latest guidance from public health officials.

Public Health Madison and Dane County announced the extension Wednesday, less than a week before the mandate was set to expire. The new order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 1 and will remain in place for 28 days.

“We are certainly still seeing incredibly high rates of illness and hospitalization, however, it does appear that we have reached a plateau in this surge of cases fueled by the Omicron variant,” Janel Heinrich, Director of Public Health Madison & Dane County, said. “This does not mean it is the time to let our guard down; we must continue to collectively take as many steps as possible to reduce risk of transmission, including masking.”

PHMDC’s announcement came on the heels of several weeks filled with surging COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations that pushed many local health care providers to their limits. While cases seem to be on the decline on the local and statewide levels, experts said it’s still too early to tell if Dane County has made it past the peak of the Omicron surge.

RELATED: Has Wisconsin reached its Omicron peak? Local health officials say maybe

Since the holidays and throughout the new year, public health officials have struggled to keep up with local demand for COVID-19 testing, which prompted the re-opening of a large-scale testing center at the Alliant Energy Center.

The number of administered tests has varied on a daily basis over the past several weeks, but demand has remained relatively consistent amid the Omicron surge. On Jan. 12, PHMDC reported 10,633 people received test results, nearing the records set during the November 2020 surge.

According to public health’s latest data update, Dane County saw an additional 758 cases confirmed Tuesday, bringing the county’s 7-day average for new cases down to 1,031. During the height of the most recent surge in cases, Dane County had a 7-day new case average of 1,491.

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