Wisconsin Governor Announces New Order Advising People to Stay Home

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks in Madison, Wis., on Feb. 6, 2020. (Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Nov. 10 called for people to stay at home because the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to rise in the state.

“As we put the election behind us, we are called upon to remember the things that unite us and that includes the struggles that we share. We must now return our undivided attention to the COVID-19 pandemic. We must start fighting this virus together, and we must start tonight,” Evers, a Democrat, said during an address to Wisconsinites.

COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Wisconsin health officials earlier on Nov. 10 reported more than 7,000 new COVID-19 cases, along with 66 deaths and 291 hospitalizations.

The first-term governor cited projections by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which has been criticized for inaccuracy during the pandemic, that suggest about 5,000 Wisconsin residents could die by Jan. 1, 2021, if no further actions are taken to slow the spread of the virus.

“Wisconsin, this is serious. This crisis is urgent,” Evers said.

In a new executive order, the governor recommended people “stay home as much as possible and only make trips when necessary, such as to go to work, pick up groceries, or refill prescriptions.”

Evers also advised people to avoid gatherings that include anyone from different households and to stay at least six feet away from non-household members. He called on people to cancel happy hours, dinner parties, sleepovers, and play dates, and to rebuff offers to spend time in person with family or friends.

Evers’s administration earlier this year ordered the closure of so-called nonessential business and Wisconsin residents to stay at home, with limited exceptions. The Wisconsin Supreme Court in May blocked an order to extend that mandate, ruling that most of it was unlawful.

Evers on Nov. 10 said that ruling “hamstrung our ability to respond to this virus by using the tools supported by science and public health experts.”

An ambulance speeds through the Bronzeville neighborhood on the North Side of Milwaukee, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, on Nov. 6, 2020. (Bing Guan/Reuters)

The new order doesn’t order people to stay at home, and there are no requirements, only recommendations.

Wisconsin Republicans, who control the legislature, hadn’t responded to the recommendations as of early Nov. 11.

Other states and municipalities have also taken action recently to try to curb the spread of the CCP virus.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican, over the weekend ordered people to wear masks and limit casual social gatherings.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, announced this week that he was ordering all restaurants, bars, clubs, and lounges to close their indoor areas from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily. He also prohibited all bar-side seating and all interstate games and tournaments for indoor youth sports.

“This virus has not gone away and it is posing its greatest threat to us in many months,” he said at a briefing.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, ordered a reduction of indoor dining capacity to 50 percent and mandatory teleworking for government employees, as well as a limit on indoor gatherings of 25 or less.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, said that anyone visiting the District of Columbia needs to be tested before they arrive and, if they stay for more than three days, get tested while in the city.

Additionally, residents who travel to any place other than Maryland, Virginia, or a low-risk state or country must limit their outside activities and self-monitor for two weeks following their return, or limit their activities until they get tested for COVID-19 and receive a negative result.

COVID-19 causes symptoms in some patients including fever, chills, and loss of taste and smell. It kills a small percentage of those infected.