• Tiered COVID-19 Testing

• DHS and the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene are now prioritizing two tiers of cases for testing. They released a memo with updated guidelines for providers to prioritize hospitalized patients to be tested for COVID-19. 

• A new, required patient form containing limited patient information and a designation of the priority level for the patient is posted on the DHS Communicable Diseases Memo website.

• What law enforcement personnel need to know about COVID-19 

• Memo regarding testing for the COVID-19 virus at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH). From March 2-15, the WSLH has been running the CDC-developed PCR test for the COVID-19 virus. The memo includes a status report, short- and long-term plans, current issues and background material.

• CDC has issued updated interim guidance describing two strategies for determining when health care personnel may return to work when they have laboratory confirmed COVID-19, or who have suspected COVID-19 (e.g., developed symptoms of a respiratory infection but did not get tested for COVID-19).

• DHS has been notified of the extremely limited supply of PPE from the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) that will be distributed to Wisconsin. The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) will provide DHS with 48-hour notice as to when these supplies will be arriving, but as of this time no such notice has been received.
• The stockpile of PPE coming to Wisconsin is extremely limited. It consists of extremely small numbers of: N95 respirators, surgical masks, face shields, gowns, coveralls, and gloves. 
• Long term care facilities should be optimizing current inventories of PPE per the CDC guidance.
• Long term care facilities and DQA will be notified when supplies become available. The order form and instructions will be posted on the DHS Outbreak page. 

• Interim Guidance from DHS for EMS Systems, Practitioners and Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) Regarding COVID-19 (March 12, 2020)