OCONTO (NBC26) -- As the number of COVID-19 cases spike across Wisconsin, the state and local health departments struggle even more to track down those that might've been exposed to the virus.
Now, they're asking for the public's help.
"We have well over double the cases we ever thought we were going to have," said Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk, Wisconsin Department of Health Services during a Facebook live update Thursday. "We never dreamed we'd be here with 3,000 cases a day in Wisconsin."
Due to the sudden increase in positive cases and the lack of investigators, many health departments are falling behind on contact tracing.
Debra Konitzer, health officer with Oconto County Health & Human Services, said it's been a challenge for their department to even contact their positive cases in a timely manner.
In Oconto County, positive coronavirus tests have more than doubled within two 14-day periods from Sep. 9 to Oct. 6, going from an average of 16 cases a day to nearly 40. As of Friday, the county has had 70 COVID-19 related hospitalizations since Sept. 3.
"We had to cut back on contacting those that are close contacts, and we really are looking for those people that test positive for them to talk to those that they know they've had close contact with and for them to be the ones to say, 'here's what we need you to do,'" Konitzer said.
The Fond du Lac County Health Department is taking the same temporary approach.
Kim Mueller, health officer with the Fond du Lac County Health Department, said they use an electronic system that helps identify positive and negative test results as well as contact tracing. For the time being, she said they're relying on those that tested positive to call people they've had close contact with. If someone doesn't feel comfortable doing that, Mueller said the health department will take step in.
Close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of someone for more than 15 minutes, even if masks are worn. The 15 minutes applies both consecutively and separately within a 24 hour time frame.
This information helps health departments understand if there was an event, place or situation where other people may be at risk.
"It's truly that we can box in this virus through isolation and quarantine, and if we did that at a really good rate we could stop the spread to a point this would not be the kind of menace it is in our community now," Willems Van Dijk said.
Anyone that comes into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 needs to quarantine for 14 days even if they initially receive a negative result.
Oconto County healthcare providers and the public health department are teaming up to encourage people to help reduce the spread of the virus by wearing masks, practicing proper hand hygiene and not gathering in large groups.
