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Mask requirements and COVID-relief compromise lose in the Legislature
Two weeks ago the Republican-led state Senate and Gov. Tony Evers reached a bipartisan compromise on a COVID-19 relief bill, setting aside the controversial elements from a partisan Assembly bill and passing something the governor signaled he was willing to sign. Tuesday, the Assembly’s Republican majority had that deal in front of them for a […]
Groups urge lawmakers to keep governor’s mask order
With the state Senate poised to take up a resolution Tuesday that could kill the state’s current COVID-19 health emergency — and the mask requirement ordered by Gov. Tony Evers — several organizations are calling on lawmakers to back the governor. The organizations are urging a ‘no’ vote on Senate Joint Resolution 3, introduced last […]
UPDATED: Governor responds as GOP lawmakers move to block COVID-19 measures
Updated Jan. 22, 2021, 4:27 P.M. After repeatedly complaining about emergency declarations that Gov. Tony Evers has issued in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, Republican lawmakers for the first time have begun formal action to block him. Senate Republicans introduced a joint resolution Thursday that would undo the governor’s most recent COVID-19-related emergency executive […]
Vaccine bills get public hearing; DHS says they duplicate work underway
Two bills that would impose new requirements on the state’s COVID-19 vaccination program sailed through an Assembly Health Committee public hearing Wednesday and could head to the Assembly floor as soon as next week. One measure, AB-4, requires the state Department of Health Services (DHS) to expand the category of professionals authorized to administer vaccines […]
Assembly Republicans want wider COVID-19 vaccine distribution — regardless of availability
Ratcheting up attacks on the Evers administration’s handling of the COVID-19 vaccine, Assembly Republicans have proposed two bills that would make an end run around the state’s vaccine distribution plan. Neither bill would address what state officials have said is the fundamental bottleneck that has been slowing down the distribution of vaccine — the limited […]
New health emergency and mask order comes with new vaccine channels
Gov. Tony Evers announced a new 60-day health emergency on Friday, while also extending the statewide mask order, in response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The order came as the latest numbers for confirmed infections as well as deaths from the novel coronavirus showed another downward trend, although Wisconsin continues to report “unacceptably high levels […]
AARP Report: COVID-19 deaths rose, but cases fell, in nursing homes through mid-December
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin nursing homes fell slightly in the four weeks ending Dec. 20, but the rate of deaths from the pandemic increased, according to new data released this week. In its monthly report on COVID-19 in nursing homes, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) said there were 2.7 deaths per […]
Faster-spreading COVID-19 virus strain shows up in Wisconsin
A variant of the virus responsible for COVID-19 has emerged in Wisconsin, the state health department announced Wednesday — one that first appeared in England and seems to spread more easily than the original virus. Both are strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, an infection primarily of the upper respiratory system. The resulting […]
GOP lawmakers turn a cold shoulder to Evers special session call for unemployment upgrades (Updated)
Updated 1/13/2021, 4:25 PM Making good on one of his State of the State promises, Gov. Tony Evers unveiled bills Wednesday to revamp the state’s beleaguered unemployment insurance system and issued an executive order calling for a special session of the Legislature to begin on Tuesday, Jan. 19. But Republican leaders in the state Legislature […]
Evers, Senate Republicans reach a deal on COVID-19 bill
With a surprise last-minute deal, the state Senate passed its slimmed-down legislation responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with only two dissenting votes Tuesday, teeing it up for the Assembly to pass and Gov. Tony Evers to sign. The bill won Evers’ support after an amendment was added that narrowed the centerpiece of the bill — […]
Republicans dare Evers to veto their COVID bill
The stripped down state Senate COVID-19 response bill that was given a public hearing on Monday has shed many of the controversial provisions from the Assembly version that passed the lower house last week. Gone are bans on mandatory vaccines for employment, required school board supermajority votes to convene virtually, prohibitions against closing houses of […]
The science on COVID-19 and the classroom
As a new semester gets underway, conflicts continue over whether schools can safely return to in-person instruction as COVID-19 remains widespread. But in the face of assertive claims from lawmakers and others that face-to-face teaching is safe in the pandemic, the scientific evidence and the perspective of some epidemiologists and public health practitioners is much […]