Supreme Court Lawsuit
|
In April, the Wisconsin State Legislature filed a lawsuit against Governor Evers’ administration and their Stay-at-Home order extension. Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm issued the extension of the Safer-at-Home order and the lawsuit argument declared that she overstepped her authority in doing so as an unelected official. Yesterday, we learned the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Legislature and overturned the order, which is no longer in effect. This means that under state authority, Wisconsin is now open and all businesses, including restaurants, bars, salons and churches may open and people may travel as they please.
HOWEVER, counties and local municipalities supersede the state in this case and they may choose to issue their own restrictions through their health officer. The sections below includes what we know so far, and please keep in mind that this is always changing.
Public and private schools are closed through the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. Republicans hope to work with Governor Evers to open the upcoming school year.
Waukesha County
|
The county is open with the following continuations:
- Tracking active cases of COVID-19.
- Increasing the number of contact tracers and contact tracing teams to mitigate disease spread.
- Working closely with hospital CEO's and the state to ensure continued adequate testing capacity.
Milwaukee County
The Stay-at-Home order is still in effect with no end date for Cudahy, Franklin, Greendale, Greenfield, Hales Corners, Oak Creek, North Shore, South Milwaukee/St. Francis, Wauwatosa and West Allis-West Milwaukee.
- Restaurants are bars are closed except for takeout and delivery.
- Public gatherings of more than 9 people are not allowed.
- Hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, spas, electrolysis providers, waxing salons, eyebrow-care establishments, tattoo parlors, body art establishments, and tanning facilities may open with proper social distancing and other protective measures in place.
- Retail establishments, including shopping malls, may open as long as patrons are limited to 25% of the building's occupancy limits.
Washington County
Currently, there are no restrictions but the county recommends following their blueprint on how to reopen businesses. The health department is working with county leaders to determine their next steps.
Safety & Personal Responsibility
Safety is still our priority and we need to take precautions to be safe for us, our communities and especially for those who are at high risk. Businesses are urged to follow Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s safe business practices as well as the CDC’s guidelines. We all need to be safe, make responsible decisions and use common sense during this time. Gloves and masks should be used where appropriate, hand washing is still necessary and social distancing should be practiced when possible.
Statistics
Now that some time has passed, we have more data collected so here are some COVID-19 statistics for Wisconsin:
- 3.9% of confirmed COVID-19 cases have been fatal
- 18% of confirmed COVID-19 cases have resulted in hospitalizations
- 87% of confirmed COVID-19 deaths have been in people age 60 or older
- 43% of confirmed COVID-19 deaths have come from long-term care facilities
- 72% of total ventilators are currently unused and available
- 4 Wisconsin counties (6% of counties) have zero confirmed COVID-19 cases
- 28 Wisconsin counties (39%) have 10 or fewer confirmed COVID-19 cases
- 60 Wisconsin counties (83%) have 100 or fewer confirmed COVID-19 cases
|
|
Representative Janel Brandtjen
State Capitol, Room 12 West
PO Box 8952
Madison, WI 53708
Toll-Free (888) 534-0022 or (608) 267-2367
Rep.Brandtjen@legis.wi.gov | |
|
|
|
