After the State Supreme Court ruling yesterday, we were hit with a hard decision that forced us to take a deep look at our mission and service to you as your local health department. We are here to prevent illness and injury, promote healthy communities where all have the opportunity to thrive, and protect the health of people and communities from threats to our well-being. Protecting our community comes with heavy weight any day, and especially today when the protection of your health from COVID-19 collides with our normal activities of daily living and opportunities for economic security.
Today we issued a rare public health order to help protect our community from an invisible threat that has disrupted our lives. We did this because we are not yet at the point that we can fully reopen our county or region without dire consequences to life and health. This is as frustrating to us as it is you; we too are members of this community.
Despite success so far in “flattening the curve” we are still seeing spread of the virus, which can just as quickly explode here as it has in so many other places. Our local Safer at Home order will continue to guide and protect the community and allow us to reopen in a safe, stepwise approach together with our partners in the Fox Valley region.
We will go back to normal life-- to traveling with family, joining a friend at yoga class, going out to dinner or having a playdate with the kids. This is in our future, but we have to be smart about how we get to that point.
Please know that we are here to serve you and are committed to doing what is best for you and the community. To move forward, we need your help in following and promoting the public health guidance that keeps us safest. Together, we will come out of this a stronger community.