Report: People in downtown Madison likely exposed to COVID-19

MADISON, Wis. - Health officials have a blunt message for anyone who lives or works in the downtown Madison area -- assume you’ve been exposed to COVID-19 and start monitoring yourself for symptoms.

Public Health Madison & Dane County issued that warning Wednesday morning, Sept. 9 in a pair of tweets that come following a surge of cases, many of which have been traced back to the UW community.

For people who do not head downtown regularly, but wanted to do some shopping there, the agency followed up with a couple of recommendations. To limit any possible exposure, they should take advantage of options that limit exposure, such as simply having it delivered, using curbside pick-up, or getting take-out instead.

On Tuesday, PHMDC noted more than 900 cases were confirmed in the county in the past week alone, adding that over 70 percent of them were UW students or staff.

However, health officials also pointed out that despite the fact an overwhelming majority could be traced to the university, its community “is not an island” and they interact with the city at large.