Health care officials are asking everyone to please be mindful about keeping family and peers safe, however families end up celebrating the upcoming holidays.

“We’re in a much worse place now than we were in March and April,” Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Andrea Palm said, stressing the importance of staying safe during the holidays.

According to the most recent COVID-19 statistics for Milwaukee County, the average daily new case count is significantly higher than it was at any other point in the pandemic, and the average test positivity rate has increased to 10%. The average daily new cases are two to three times higher than they were in mid-September and hospitalizations have risen to some of the highest counts since March.

Milwaukee County health officials said the next few months have the potential to be the most challenging we have seen this year. They advise each of us to take the necessary steps to slow COVID-19’s spread now, as individual action will directly impact the health and safety of the whole community in the coming weeks.

Those individual actions can collectively make a big impact on reducing the spread of the coronavirus as well as the deaths that come with.

Two Wisconsin National Guard troops confirm testing information at a specimen collection site in Antigo, Wis., June 4, 2020. Wisconsin National Guard specimen collection sites support the state’s response to COVID-19 by efficiently getting Wisconsin residents their test results. Wisconsin National Guard photo by Spc. Emma Anderson. COVID-19 in Milwaukee County on the rise, testing available.
Wisconsin National Guard testing sites are also available around the state. Photo: Spc. Emma Anderson

What does this mean for you? For starters, it isn’t the best idea to go to that sweaty basement banger at your work acquaintance’s house this Halloween. Think about it; parties just don’t hit the same when you know there’s a high possibility of falling severely ill directly afterward.

No doubt, this is the worst time possible for the best holiday ever. But don’t worry! Here are some things you can do instead that follow CDC guidelines:

  • Go to a scary movie showing at the Milky Way Drive-In.
  • Wash your hands with pumpkin-scented soap.
  • Grab a Ouijia board and have a six-feet-apart séance. Fact: Ghosts are known to not have respiratory systems!
  • Wear a costume for 24 hours straight. Actually…don’t.
  • Make a Voodoo doll for the year 2020 and give it a little stab for each time it has wronged you.

Norris Health Center is offering free testing for off-campus students who aren’t currently showing symptoms at the Student Union. Call (414)-229-4716 or go to Norris Health Center’s Virtual Patient Portal to schedule an appointment on weekdays Monday-Thursday between 3-4:15 p.m. and Fridays 8:30-4:15 p.m.