COVID-19 expenses for Winneshiek County Public Health are at least $25,000

Winneshiek County Public Health Director Krista Vanden Brink says her staff spent at least 425 hours from mid-March through the end of May handling matters related to the COVID-19 epidemic.  That represents $20,500 in wages.

Vanden Brink told Board of Health members this week that her agency had another $4,500 in expenses related to COVID-19, bringing the total cost to $25,000.

That does not, of course, include expenses from prior to mid-March, nor those from June 1st on.

But Vanden Brink says her agency is now working to get reimbursements from state and federal programs to cover those costs.  She says any hours spent by her staff doing COVID-19 investigations will be reimbursed.  She says federal stimulus program funding is also available.

As of Thursday, Winneshiek County has had 24 confirmed cases of COVID-19.