COVID-19 Wisconsin
New order limits mass gatherings to reduce COVID spread
With COVID-19 infections three times what they were a month ago, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers instituted a new limit on indoor mass gatherings Tuesday in another effort to curb transmission of the coronavirus. The new order, issued by state Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-designee Andrea Palm under Evers’ direction, officially takes effect Thursday, Oct. […]
Lt. Gov. Barnes: To stop the spread, change our behavior
With public health almost entirely dependent on voluntary behavior and few enforced restrictions, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes telephoned Friday to get the word out: Wisconsin residents need to do what it takes to stop the spread of COVID-19. “We’re encouraging extreme caution for people across the state,” Barnes said in a phone interview. Compared especially […]
Plaintiffs want court to order immediate end to mask requirement
As the number of positive tests for COVID-19 has skyrocketed in Wisconsin, the conservative law firm that wants to stop Gov. Tony Evers from declaring a health emergency or requiring masks to curb the spread of the virus now wants the court to immediately block all of those orders, including new ones the governor issued […]
Evers ‘looking at every possible avenue’ to extend mask requirement
With just two weeks until the statewide mask order to curb the spread of COVID-19 expires, Gov. Tony Evers said Tuesday his administration is “looking at every possible avenue to see if there’s a way to extend it.” He also made it clear that he doesn’t expect Republican leaders in the state Legislature to put […]
Wisconsin COVID-19 deaths top 1,000; ‘Even one … is one too many,’ says governor
Wisconsin marked a grim milestone as the state’s official death toll from COVID-19 reached 1,000 Tuesday, and then kept climbing. The daily statistical report from the Department of Health Services (DHS) listed 1,006 deaths from the virus since it was first encountered in Wisconsin, eight more than Monday’s total. “Even one death from COVID-19 is […]
COVID-19 continues to sap economic recovery
Five months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy — in Wisconsin and the nation — is limping under the weight of the virus. Numbers released on Friday, Aug. 7, showed an increase of 1.8 million jobs in July nationally. “But, because so many jobs were lost in March and April, we are still 12.9 million jobs […]
Health care workers call out lawmakers who want to throw out mask order
Frustrated at threats from Republican lawmakers to overturn Wisconsin’s statewide mask mandate aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19, a group of health care workers and supporters told reporters on the steps of the state Capitol on Thursday that the Legislature should set other priorities. The Thursday press conference was organized by nurses and the […]
‘How are we going to fix that? How are we going to move forward?’
Months after lawmakers — and even the state’s top economic development strategist — thought it would be waning, COVID-19 still threatens Wisconsin, as its economy struggles to recover. Industries are “reeling” — and so are other sectors of the state that are critical to its long-term success: education, child care and health care. As grim […]
CDC report: Voting in Milwaukee fell April 7, but COVID-19 cases didn’t rise
The April 7 election doesn’t appear to have sparked a surge in COVID-19 infections in Milwaukee, according to a new report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — but it also saw overall voter participation cut nearly in half and close to an 80% drop in in-person voting in the city […]
Sen. Larson launches petition drive for state mask mandate
A Milwaukee state senator’s petition for a statewide mask mandate has garnered more than 8,000 signatures — and a torrent of abuse on social media. Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) is spreading word of the petition on his official Facebook page. The petition, in the form of a letter addressed to Gov. Tony Evers, the state […]
Small farms get most of first round of COVID-19 aid; 2nd round planned
Nearly 12,000 Wisconsin farmers shared in the first round of aid from a special state program to support farmers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials said Monday. So far $41.6 million has been distributed to 11,884 farms from the $50 million program, funded from the state’s allotment under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relieve and […]
PSC halts plan to let power companies disconnect customers behind on their bills
A month and a half after announcing it would let utility companies go back to cutting off service to people behind on their bills starting this weekend, the state Public Service Commission (PSC) voted 2-1 Thursday to reverse that decision. Instead, the PSC extended a moratorium on disconnections that was first imposed March 24 until […]