Iron County announces new flu-shot dates

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Hurley — The Iron County Health Department announced several additional drive-thru flu clinics Tuesday as department staff encourage residents to get immunized in an effort to avoid an influenza outbreak from happening while the coronavirus pandemic is still occurring.

Along with the previously announced Sept. 29 event at the Mercer Community Center and the Oct. 7 event at the Iron County Highway Garage in Hurley; the department is also holding a drive-thru clinic from 10 a.m. to noon on Oct. 13 at the highway garage, a clinic from 10 a.m. to noon on Oct. 14 at the Sherman Fire Department garage on Wisconsin 182 in Springstead and an event from 2 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 20 at the Mercer Community Center.

Department officials also said that if the Sept. 29 event is canceled due to a possible delay in receiving the vaccine, it will be rescheduled for Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Health department officials also urged residents not to get complacent regarding the drop in local COVID-19 cases. As of Tuesday, only six of the 137 residents who have contracted COVID-19 are considered active cases, however, the virus continues to be a problem in other areas of the state.

“We can't let our guard down,” Iron County Health Officer Katie Hampston said in a release. A health department spokesperson in the release described the number of cases in the state as growing at a “near exponential rate.”

The state has seen the daily number of new cases rise from 678 on Aug. 31 to 1,791 Monday, according the health department's release, with “an unprecedented number of infections among 18-24-year-olds driving the 2.6-fold increase over the last three weeks.

Gov. Tony Evers declared a new public health emergency and mask order in the state Tuesday, extending the previous state of emergency through Nov. 21.

On Tuesday, the Ashland County Health and Human Services Department issued an order Tuesday closing bars and taverns in the city of Ashland.

The order takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday and runs through Oct. 11.

Ashland County has seen 32 new positive cases in the past week, according to the order, with the majority, “Directly related to spontaneous gatherings in bars and/or tavern establishments with no less than seven establishments identified as sources of exposure.”