Local doctor discusses odds of Covid-19 outbreak ahead of RNC

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee area's seeing a slight increase in Covid-19 cases ahead of the Republican National Convention, leaving some to wonder whether precautions need to be taken at a convention that will draw tens of thousands of out-of-towners to it.

If you're going to the convention, or to any large indoor gathering for that matter, good news, doctors say right now, even with the slight uptick in Covid-19 cases, the chance of you getting it in Wisconsin are slim.

"I don't think that we're gonna see large outbreaks from that," said Dr. Jeff Pothof, Emergency Medicine Physician and Chief Quality Officer, UW Health.

Almost 24-hundred delegates will fill Fiserv Forum, representing every corner of this country. And while Dr. Jeff Pothof doesn't foresee a Covid-19 outbreak after the RNC, he says not everyone will go home healthy.

"When you bring that many people together whether it's the RNC or large sporting events especially when they're indoors combined with slight upticks in covid cases around the country, for sure there are gonna be some people at the RNC that are gonna come down with Covid-19," said Dr. Pothof.

Covid-19's already on a slight upward trend in Milwaukee, but not enough to draw a lot of attention to it.

"Obviously when it was more active, we were conscientious and concerned, but at this point, we really, really don't think much about it," said Eric Rayer, visiting Milwaukee from Appleton.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services' monitoring of wastewater shows a rise in the last two months from a 19 million concentration in May to 41.5 million in July. And that's higher than July of 2023 when it was 12.6 million. Dr. Pothof says one reason could be waning immunities.

"The FDA just approved an updated covid vaccine. May be available as soon as August but probably for sure by September, October to some of those most current kind of offspring to omicron which is still out there providing good protection," said Dr. Pothof.

But with the pandemic over, those staying in busy Milwaukee this weekend say Covid is the last thing on their mind, unless they're planning to be around someone who has health issues.

"I mean that's the only time otherwise as far as being out in the public or even in closed events, you don't even think twice about it," said Ray Drea, visiting Milwaukee from Delafield.

"No one wants to be that person that so tragically causes problems in someone else's life so if you have Covid-19, you might be fine, most people around you might be fine, but not everyone might be fine and we got to watch out for those people," said Dr. Pothof.

Much of the RNC takes place at Fiserv Forum, but a number of large parties and gatherings will be held at area hotels and restaurants.