A report on COVID-19 in Door County and the healthcare impact of people arriving at tourist destinations during the pandemic. “I never thought in my wildest dreams I would ask people not to come to Door County,” said Door County Board Chair Dave Lienau.
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Wisconsin Tourism Copes with COVID-19 Challenges
Frederica Freyberg:
For many, Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of summer and a trip to the cabin or second home. Even prior to the “safer at home” extension, the COVID-19 outbreak had tourist destinations like Bayfield, Oneida, Door and Vilas Counties urging people to stay home. This week, Trevor Keller shows us how an influx of people could have a big impact on health care in those areas.
Trevor Keller:
Beautiful scenery in its isolated setting make Door County an enticing getaway from the COVID-19 pandemic. But local officials are urging people to avoid the peninsula.
Dave Lienau:
I never thought in my wildest dreams I would ever ask people not to come to Door County. It’s very concerning to us to have to ask people not to come. It’s just not in our nature to do that.
Trevor Keller:
The county is asking people who own seasonal homes to stay away. The worry is an older population and limited health care staff. Door County Medical Center is the county’s only hospital. They’ve tripled their intensive care capacity, but that’s 12 to 15 ICU beds for a county of 27,000 people.
James Heise:
Typically if we have a critically-ill patient that is beyond what we would be able to handle from a specialty perspective, it would be that person would be transferred to Green Bay. We may not have that luxury.
Trevor Keller:
Officials are trying to protect residents while limiting damage to fast-approaching tourism season. The White Gull Inn is closed. They’re already getting summer cancellations and sending out refunds.
Meredith Coulson-Kanter:
We’re actively giving — sending money out the door every day and not bringing any in, which is definitely unusual for this time of year.
Trevor Keller:
Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant is famous for its goats on the roof, but right now, they’re more concerned about customers through the door.
Lars Johnson:
Those months are what carry us the entire year. So we’re all in the situation right now. We’re kind of in a holding pattern.
Trevor Keller:
Anxiety is high, but business owners we talked to all agreed visitors should stay home. They just hope a rocky spring can still turn into a more typical Door County summer.
Meredith Coulson-Kanter:
It’s a toss-up between yes, being anxious to open our doors as soon as we possibly can, but definitely not wanting to so if it’s going to put us or our staff or our visitors at risk.
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