Thanksgiving Community Letter

To the Residents of Our Region,

COVID-19 does not get the day off for Thanksgiving, and neither should our efforts to slow the spread of this deadly virus that is threatening our hospitals and endangering our families and friends.

From March through August, we fared better against the coronavirus than many other parts of the country. Enough of us were doing the things we have to do to fight the virus: wearing face coverings, avoiding large gatherings, practicing physical distancing and maintaining good hygiene. We saw the benefits of our individual and collective effort – our economy began to recover, our hospitals resumed services that were temporarily put on hold, and most importantly, fewer people were getting infected.

But things have changed in the last several weeks. Now, with cold weather keeping us indoors and holiday gatherings offering easy excuses to let our guard down, we are losing the valuable ground we held against the coronavirus these past seven months.

This is about us. This is about our friends, family, neighbors, colleagues and others who call our region home. It’s up to each of us to keep our loved ones and others safe and healthy. It’s up to us to keep our businesses open and our kids in school.

In order to turn this around and keep moving forward safely, let’s use this time of Thanksgiving as an opportunity to identify everything and everyone who fills us with gratitude and do what it takes to protect them. Maintain your “bubble” during Thanksgiving. Wear a mask or face covering. Give others – even family – plenty of space, especially while eating. Let your family and friends outside your home know it’s OK to stay put this year.

Please commit to helping our region have a safe Thanksgiving. We can do it.

Help spread the word about what we need to do by sharing what you are doing to stay safe during the holidays by using #forwardsafelytogether and/or #besafewisconsin. You can also take the Be Safe Pledge.