Winneshiek County Memorial Hospital issued the following announcement on August 12.
Winneshiek Medical Center has decided to cancel the Grand Community Picnic due to rising COVID-19 concerns. The picnic was scheduled on the WMC campus for Thursday, August 26, 2021.
“The decision to cancel the picnic was made after significant discussion and consideration,” says Steve Slessor, chief administrative officer, Winneshiek Medical Center. “The committee has worked hard to create an event that would be fun and engaging, but with increasing COVID-19 cases, we all felt canceling would be the safest for our guests and staff.”
According to the CDC, the Delta variant is surging in the U.S. They recently released guidance to increase masking and to continue to avoid large gatherings due to the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant. Additionally, the CDC urges people to be vaccinated, stating that vaccination helps prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19, including the Delta variant. Vaccination can also help reduce the spread of the virus in communities.
Thomas Marquardt, D.P.M., chief medical officer, Winneshiek Medical Center, says, “As the largest medical center in our region, it is important for us to be a leader in health and safety, and canceling the event is the right thing to do, in this case. We continue to encourage everyone age 12 and older to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to stop the spread of this disease.”
Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are available at Winneshiek Medical Center. To make an appointment, call 563-382-2911.
Original source can be found here.
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