COVID-19 Update - Thursday, May 7th

In order to support your families being able to take a deep breath, turn away from constant news updates, and create a new temporary normal, my office will continue sending a daily update on the COVID-19 public health emergency and will post online on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

It is my hope that one reliable update each day will allow you to take a deep breath, oversee all that is happening in your own life and home, and have a reliable source of news you can count on to be up to date and accurate. As always, previous updates are on our website and linked beneath the graphic below.

My greatest concerns right now are your lives and livelihoods. We are working hard to keep you and your loved ones safe, and to fight for our small businesses in an unprecedented crisis.

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Past email updates can be found HERE

COVID-19 Testing Locations

Governor Evers and the Department of Health Services announced a searchable map which allows Wisconsinites to search for COVID-19 testing site locations in their communities.

Find the map HERE.

Department of Workforce Development Update

The Department of Workforce Development reported today that the state lost out on $25 million from the federal CARES Act because of delayed action by the legislature to repeal the one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more HERE.

I advocated for swift action by the legislature to waive the one-week waiting period since March, and am disappointed to see what we have lost out on by not acting soon enough. The Assembly Speaker sets the floor dates for when we vote in session — we had been waiting for session to be scheduled and to waive the one-week waiting period.

Democrats in the Assembly and Senate sent a letter to Assembly Speaker Vos and Senate Majority Leader Fitzgerald on April 1st to call the legislature into session immediately and vote on legislation in response to COVID-19. That letter can be read HERE.

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Congressman Mark Pocan, and Congressman Ron Kind sent a letter to Speaker Vos and Majority Leader Fitzgerald on April 3rd urging the legislature to act quickly to eliminate the one-week waiting period. Read the full letter HERE.

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The DWD announced on May 6th that it was awarded $999,000 in initial funding from the U.S. Department of Labor as part of a COVID-19 Dislocated Worker Grant.

The award was made last week in response to Wisconsin's $3 million request, and the funding for this grant is provided through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The grant funds will be distributed to participating Wisconsin workforce development boards (WDBs) that will use the funds to create temporary jobs for laid-off workers, including self-employed individuals whose businesses have been impacted by the public health emergency.

The jobs will focus on the provision of humanitarian assistance relating to COVID-19 disaster relief efforts. The participating WDBs will hire laid-off workers to assist non-profit charitable organizations that provide humanitarian assistance to community members in need or assist local public health departments engaged in efforts to educate community members about the threat of COVID-19 and proper safety measures to help prevent exposure to and the spread of the virus.

Workers Protections during COVID-19

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin wrote a letter to the CEOs of meat processors demanding answers to reports of unsafe working conditions and facilities failing to follow recommended safety guidelines to protect frontline workers during COVID-19.

Wisconsin has experienced outbreaks at meat processing facilities around the state. Senator Baldwin states that in Brown County, as of April 29th, more than half of the over 900 confirmed cases of COVID-19 are linked to food processing plants and 334 of those cases are linked to a single JBS USA plant in Green Bay. There was also an outbreak at the Patrick Cudahy Smithfield Foods Plant, where 85 workers have tested positive as of May 4th.

Our frontline workers deserve to be protected as they work to support their families and their communities. They should not fear illness when they are just trying to do their jobs. I applaud Senator Baldwin's efforts to protect workers.

Read Senator Baldwin's letter HERE and her full statement HERE.

DHS Data 5-7-2020.PNG The percentage of positive COVID-19 cases have gone down for the 5th day in a row. Keep it up, Wisconsin — Safer at Home and the Badger Bounce Back plan are working! DHS COVID-19 Update 5-7-2020.png