Wisconsin Department of Health Services Updates on COVID-19
DHS continues to update its website with the most recent information relating to COVID-19. I recommend that individuals check regularly for updates and follow the prevention measures that DHS has provided. Other good sources to follow are the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. Continue to monitor yourselves and others for symptoms and practice social distancing whenever possible.

Governor Evers issued an Executive Order today that prohibits gatherings of 50 or more people and requires bars and restaurants to operate at less than 50 percent capacity or have fewer than 50 people in the establishment. 

MPS and Community Resources

Following the decision to close MPS schools on Friday and with a state-wide school shut down beginning this Wednesday, the district is working hard to continue to meet the needs of students and their families. Beginning today, the district will provide two meals at 20 distribution sites around the city from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The meals will include lunch and breakfast items for the next morning. The sites will also provide daily learning materials that do not require the internet in order to help students meet learning objectives from home.

Please use this map of MPS meal locations to help locate the sites listed above, and to stay up to date on the measures MPS is taking, please visit their website. 

The Department of Public Instruction released information regarding the status of school closures and community operations in response to Governor Ever’s statewide school shut down here.

Community Food Banks:

• Hunger Task Force will remain open in service to seniors, low-income households and children throughout Milwaukee County 
• Riverwest Food Pantry is still open for their normal hours, but are changing to a pre-bagged food pickup service 
• The UMCS Emergency Food Pantry remains open at this time
• Feeding America food pantries are still open

Activities/Educational Opportunities:

• Charter offering free access to Spectrum broadband and wifi  
• Suggestions for parents while school is out
• AT&T: Removing data caps associated with their wireless and wired connections (see “Customer Offers”)
• Comcast increasing access and speeds to their Internet Essentials Program ($10/month broadband); new families get 60 days free
• T-mobile Hotspot loan programs will be made available to K-12 districts ($20/month for unlimited data; $0 device). No link yet but confirmed by T-mobile Government account manager.

The City of Milwaukee has provided a schedule for early voting or in-person absentee voting. The locations that will be open are the Zeidler Municipal Building, the Midtown Center, and the Zablocki Library. Services will be operating at these locations from Monday, March 16- Sunday, April 5. These polling locations will be open Monday-Friday from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM and Saturday-Sunday 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM.

If you are already registered to vote, you can request an absentee ballot to be mailed to your home on either of these websites:

1. myvote.wi.gov
2. city.milwaukee.gov

To request your absentee ballot by mail, complete the Application for Absentee Ballot and mail it in with a copy of your photo ID to Election Commission, 200 E Wells St Room 501, Milwaukee, WI, 53202.

To request your absentee ballot by email, send an email to absenteeballot@milwaukee.gov with a copy of your photo ID and attach the Application for Absentee Ballot. If you do not attach the application, please provide the following information in the body of your email:

• Your full name
• Voting address
• The specific election for which you would like a ballot, or if you are requesting for the calendar year

• Ballot Delivery preference: mailing address (if it is different from your voting address) or if you prefer to receive your ballot via email (emailed ballots must be printed and returned via mail at the voter's expense).

If you are NOT already registered to vote, the deadline for online and mail registration is Wednesday, March 18. For more information on how to register to vote, please click here.