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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
In just the past week, Wisconsin has begun to turn the
corner on testing. For the first time, Wisconsin tested
over 5,000 people in one day. Additionally, we’ve
recently begun seeing a downward trend on the total
positive tests as a percentage of total tests compared
on a day-to-day basis, in-part thanks to these increased
testing efforts. While we’re seeing improvements, this
progress hasn’t been steady, and there is still a ways
to go before we reach the state’s daily testing goal.
But we’re taking a step ahead, and it’s an important
step as we look to identify and manage the outbreak in
our state. Meanwhile, there’s much more to share about
COVID-19 and the state’s response, even though it hasn’t
been long since my last e-newsletter. Below are some of
the latest updates and other information that I have for
you this week.
Most Retail Businesses Allowed to Reopen or
Expand Operations
Under Emergency Order 36 issued just a few hours ago,
most retail businesses in Wisconsin can now open-up for
in-person shopping with a few restrictions. This
development comes after carry-out and curbside pickup
orders were allowed to resume near the end of April.
Issued by the Governor and his Department of Health
Services, today’s order allows all retail operations
with a designated entrance (i.e. businesses that are
stand alone or in a strip mall, but not businesses
inside a shopping mall with no entrance directly to
their establishment) may now allow up to five customers
inside their stores at any time. The order is effective
immediately.
Businesses under this order must also practice social
distancing to the extent feasible, and must review other
protective measures recommended the Wisconsin Economic
Development Corporations’ (WEDC) guidelines on business
practices. If you’re part of a local retail
establishment and have questions on this development,
please
review the order and review the guidelines on
WEDC’s
website. If you’re still unclear about how to
interpret these changes, please feel free to contact my
office.
While this is a welcome step for Northeast Wisconsin, I
believe that more needs to be done to ensure that small
businesses are operating on a level playing field with
larger retailers.
Advocating for Brown County
Wisconsin’s county health departments and local
providers are some of the best suited to address the
scope of COVID-19 in their communities with help and
guidance from state and federal health officials. In
Brown County, their role and the important partnerships
with their counterparts in different levels of
government have been more noticeable as they address one
of the largest outbreaks in the state, and one of the
largest per capita in the nation. The rates in Brown
County are substantially higher than any of other
Counties in the 2nd Senate District.
The efforts made by the Brown County Health Department
to identify cases, trace their contacts, and reduce the
risk of spread has been substantial, and that doesn’t
come without cost. Under the federal Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the State of
Wisconsin received about $2.3 billion from the
Coronavirus Relief Fund, with about $0.3 billion going
directly to Milwaukee County, the City of Milwaukee, and
Dane County as required by the federal legislation. The
remaining nearly $2 billion is for use at the Governor’s
discretion.
Congress, in setting up the Coronavirus Relief Fund’s
direct payments to local governments, only provided
payments to local governments with more than 500,000
residents. In Wisconsin, that left 70 counties and over
1,000 municipalities and towns without any direct
payments. While every county, from Bayfield to Kenosha
has incurred expenses from COVID-19, perhaps no county
has dealt with the outbreak quite like Brown County. As
you can imagine, those financial, technological,
resource and personnel implications are immense.
Near the end of April, I wrote a letter to the Governor
asking for his help to provide funding from the $2
billion at his disposal to Brown County. This money
could help to provide testing supplies, personal
protective equipment, rental spaces for testing events
or isolation centers, staff to trace potential
exposures, and much, much more. I heard back from his
staff and spoke with his Chief of Staff just a couple of
days after requesting his help.
The takeaway I had was that they were still waiting to
learn about the reporting requirements for the
expenditure of the funds. While government
accountability has always been at the forefront of my
mind, I questioned this rationale as I’ve seen states
like Iowa expend these funds for testing supplies,
states like Utah purchase masks for residents, and
states like Indiana provide some assistance to
businesses and local governments. The Administration
also asked for a more direct listing the expenses Brown
County would like covered.
To keep things moving, last week, I provided additional
follow-up, with help from Brown County, on what specific
assistance they were seeking. It’s my hope that we’ll be
able to continue our dialogue early this week and that
we’ll be able to expedite a plan to help Brown County
execute and pay for a plan to continue to control this
outbreak and better prepare the county for additional
response and financial support for the total response.
COVID-19 Testing in Northeast Wisconsin
In the last e-newsletter, I provided information on the
new community testing site in Brown County for all
symptomatic residents or workers in the County. Since
then, Brown County has added a second drive-thru testing
site at CASA Alba in downtown on the East side of Green
Bay, along with their other location at the Resch
Center.
Looking to expand their testing even further, starting
today, all ‘essential workers’ in Brown County are now
eligible for a free COVID-19 test at one of these two
drive-thru locations, even if they don’t have symptoms.
Learn more about this testing option and schedule a time
(appointments are required) on the
Brown County Health Department’s website.
Thank you to members of the Wisconsin National Guard,
Brown County Health Department, Bellin Health, and
everyone else involved in the dramatically increased
COVID-19 testing efforts in Brown County at these
community testing sites! Because of their selfless work,
more cases in our region will be identified earlier
which helps to slow community spread and control the
outbreak.
If you’re a bit further south, this Wednesday through
Friday, a free COVID-19 testing site will be opened at
Fox Valley Technical College. Anyone with symptoms can
receive a test, and no appointments are necessary. Learn
more about this community testing event in Outagamie
County on the
Public Health Division’s website.
To help keep these community testing events straight and
to learn about other sites in Northeast Wisconsin that
may pop-up, the Department of Health Services (DHS) has
created a site to learn about COVID-19 testing
opportunities. Whether you’re looking to get tested
because you’re symptomatic or are concerned about
potential exposure, you can visit
DHS’s website, or you can always call your health
care provider and ask about testing options.
Additional Funds for Wisconsin’s Efforts
The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t just impacted resident’s
health and daily lives, but the economic impact on our
state has been quite substantial. Some efforts from the
federal government to provide assistance to the state
and local governments, businesses, and residents in
Wisconsin have been outlined in previous e-newsletters.
This includes the additional $600 per week for
unemployment benefit recipients and the Paycheck
Protection Program, and the Coronavirus Relief Fund was
discussed above, but these are just some of the funds
available.
I’ve heard some questions in recent weeks about some of
the other financial resources made available by Congress
in Wisconsin, so I wanted to take a moment to give a
brief overview of some of the other funding that our
communities will receive.
As any parent, teacher, or school administrator knows,
the changes to switch to virtual education hasn’t been
without a few bumps, but our local schools have quickly
and largely successfully switched to this new form of
learning. With that switch, however, comes expenses.
$221 million will help K-12 schools absorb the cost of
this shift and prepare for in-person instruction again
without solely relying on taxpayers. An additional $187
million was made available for the UW-System given the
expenses they’ll incur and the lost revenue they’ll
endure, with half of that funding going to assist
students.
Under the BadgerCare plan, state insurance plan
recipients are provided an option for health care
coverage. Normally a state-federal split for expenses,
the federal government has increased their reimbursement
rates to the states, saving Wisconsin an estimated $300
million over the next six months at the March enrollment
rates. Other health services-related funding will bring
an additional over $80 million into the state for things
like community health centers, elderly care support, and
more.
For those still headed into work each day with the
closure of schools, finding child care services was
often on the top of their minds. Fortunately, many child
care providers in our area continued to provide their
crucial service to help keep our communities going.
Under a federal block grant, the state will receive $51
million which will be used to reimburse open child care
providers who remained open, reward the employees of
these centers, and assist child care providers that
closed in making it through these difficult times.
While the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has
been trying to assist Wisconsinites in receiving their
unemployment benefits, their expenses have undoubtedly
increased. Nearly $20 million for DWD’s administrative
expenses, on top of the federal benefits for
individuals, should be helping DWD to get the claims
processed quicker and get these benefits out the door in
a timely manner.
This is just a sampling of federal funding coming to
Wisconsin, but other funds will enter our state as well.
This includes $37 million in Community Development Block
Grants, $46 million in housing assistance, $18 million
in emergency food assistance, $200 million in
transportation and transit assistance, including $6
million for the Green Bay Area and $7 million for the
Appleton Area, and more.
In total, Wisconsin has already been designated to
receive about $3.4 billion in federal funds, and even
more could be coming our way. As Co-Chair of the Joint
Legislative Audit Committee, I have already made certain
that the non-partisan Legislative Audit Bureau has been
engaged in monitoring the distribution and expenditure
of federal funds in Wisconsin from COVID-19, but this
task is only getting started. With this challenge comes
unique opportunities to help residents and small
businesses get through this crisis. With that in mind,
we must ensure that every dollar flowing through the
state is both accountable and transparent, as we must
prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of this funding.
Recent Changes at the DMV
As a reminder from a previous e-newsletter, if your
driver license has expired anywhere from March 12th to
present, it’s been automatically extended 60-days. If
this applies to you, that means that you’re coming up on
your renewal date. Fortunately, it just got a little
easier.
Starting today, residents will have the option to renew
their driver license online if you meet certain
criteria. This effort by the state Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV), in response to COVID-19 closing most in
person activities at their regional offices, will be the
first time drivers don’t have to head to the DMV for
this routine task. You can learn more and apply for
renewal on
their website.
Other changes being made by the DMV will allow parents
and guardians of 16 or 17 year olds to have the option
to waive the road test requirements if their teenager
meets the other necessary requirements for a driver
license.
The DMV made this change considering the backlog of road
test requirements, the very high passage rate for first
or second time road tests, and the role that parents and
guardians have in teaching the safe operation of a
vehicle. You can learn more and apply for this waiver on
the
DMV website.
Assistance for Farmers
While farms have remained open throughout this pandemic,
that hasn’t made the financial situation being faced by
many farmers any easier. As our region’s producers look
to make it through these difficult times and wait until
commodity prices return, I want to make sure they know
that assistance is available.
Previously, I’ve talked about the Small Business
Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program. This
loan forgiveness opportunity will provide farmers with
the resources they need to help keep their staff on the
payroll and provide some extra money for their expenses.
Keep good records and follow the program’s guidelines,
to be eligible for tax-free forgiveness of the loan.
While it may have taken a while, farm owners and other
agricultural businesses are now also eligible for the
Economic Injury Disaster Loan program from SBA. These
low-interest loans are an important option for those who
don’t qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program, but
are looking for some help during these difficult times.
Applicants are often eligible for a $10,000 advance on
their loan to help with more immediate needs.
To learn more about the Paycheck Protection Program and
the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and to apply,
please visit
SBA’s website. To learn more about other technical,
operational, and financial resources for farmers during
COVID-19, please review my
April 24th e-newsletter.
Finally, farmers and others working in agriculture
looking for advice on navigating these financial
assistance options from SBA are encouraged to watch a
webinar starting tomorrow at 2pm hosted by the
UW-Madison Division of Extension and the Wisconsin Small
Business Development Center. Learn more about this
webinar and find a link to join
here.
Emergency Medical Care is Safe and Available
Wisconsin hospitals are looking to remind and encourage
patients to use the emergency department or urgent care
if they feel it’s necessary. Patients should not
hesitate to seek emergency care if they are experiencing
symptoms or other ailments. Our state’s hospitals and
clinics are clean and safe, and are taking all necessary
precautions to continue providing top-notch care for
patients and their families.
For less urgent, yet important care, patients should
contact their provider to discuss when they can schedule
a virtual or in-person visit. While in-person visits are
still an option with some providers, virtual care in the
comfort of your own home through telemedicine was
already a growing field before the COVID-19 outbreak and
has continued to grow as we’ve seen the importance of
access to virtual visits.
Recently, ThedaCare was awarded an $182,531 grant from
the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) to
expand their telemedicine services for patients in the
Clintonville area. This is just one example of area
provider trying to expand their care options for
residents in Northeast Wisconsin, both during the
pandemic and after this is over. For more information on
the telemedicine program and the grant to ThedaCare,
visit the
PSC’s website.
Mental Health Awareness Month
In such uncertain times, everyone is susceptible to
anxiety, stress, and fear. May is Mental Health
Awareness Month, an annual reminder that these concerns
are nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed by. If
you’re looking to learn how to better cope with the
COVID-19 outbreak or any other mental health concerns,
please remember that you’re not alone. One in five
people will deal with mental health troubles at some
point in their life. These people are our family
members, friends, co-workers, and neighbors.
This anxiety, stress, and fear doesn’t have to ruin your
day. Find some tips and resources for additional help on
the
Resilient Wisconsin website. Find other resources
and download the 2020 Mental Health Month Toolkit on
Mental Health America’s website.
COVID-19 Connect Site and App
Some students and professors at UW-Madison didn’t just
take note of the changes around us from COVID-19, they
decided to do something about it. Working with other
stakeholders, they created a website and mobile app to
provide virtual social connections and messages of
support along with the latest news and additional
resources to help users navigate these difficult times.
The app will be available for downloading in just a few
days, and in the meantime, you can visit the
COVID-19 Wisconsin Connect platform online.
Until Next Time
My staff and I continue to remain available to assist
with questions you may have involving state government
during this difficult time. While we may not always have
the answer right away, we’ll do our best to assist with
your questions and concerns involving COVID-19 or other
issues related to state government.
To find the most up-to-date information on the
Governor’s actions along with each state agency’s role
in this outbreak, I’d encourage you to visit
this
state website. To find the most up-to-date
statistics on confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin,
visit the
Department of Health Services’ website. You can also
find the information I’ve shared in my last nine
e-newsletters on COVID-19 by visiting
my website.
And as always, please feel free to
contact my office with any questions or concerns you
may have, and be sure to connect with me on
Facebook,
Twitter, and
Instagram for regular updates on Coronavirus and
more from around the
2nd Senate District and in the State Capitol.
Thanks for reading!
Senator Robert Cowles
Proudly Serving Wisconsin's
2nd Senate District
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