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The Wisconsin State Supreme Court voted to strike down Governor Tony Evers’ “Stay at Home” order, effective immediately. There’s been a lot of confusion over what that actually means and what’s going to happen next because of it.
Waves of official statements released Thursday morning show local offices trying to spread as much factual information as possible. The City of Milwaukee released a joint statement from Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic (Chairwoman of the Public Safety and Health Committee) and Common Council President Cavalier Johnson which was blunt about COVID-19’s impact on the city and those communities affected most by the crisis.
“We will not sit idle as Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices who ruled to overturn Governor Tony Evers’ ‘Safer-at-Home’ order choose politics over science,” the statement reads. “Public health experts have warned that if we end restriction too quickly it will result in needless death and suffering. The virus is still spreading and we must continue to remain vigilant and united in our response.”
The rest of the statement talks about how the virus doesn’t discriminate between Milwaukee, Greenfield or any other community and they want to get back to normal as much as everyone else.
Another statement comes from Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, where the message was on the same wavelength: “Wisconsinites’ actions have saved many lives, and we’ve made meaningful progress in the fight against the coronavirus. At the legislature’s urging, however, the plan that’s been working has largely been struck down. […] Over a week ago, I called on the legislature to act immediately. Unfortunately, it failed to do so, and Republicans in the legislature still have offered no plan to address the coronavirus. They can’t keep waiting to do so. In the middle of the fight against this virus, we need reasonable rules in place that protect Wisconsinites’ health.”
County Executive David Crowley, who echoed the general sentiment, states: “I understand this is a time of confusion and uncertainty and it is easy to lose faith. This is why I rely on our public health officers and the data available to guide the way. I remain committed to working toward a safe re-opening based on the best information available. You can’t have a healthy economy without a healthy community. The well-being of all residents will always be my top priority."
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Governor Evers’ concluded his statement in response with: “I am disappointed in the decision today, but our top priority has been and will remain doing what we can and what we have to do to protect the health and safety of the people of our state. After months of unproductive posturing, I hope the folks in the Legislature are ready to do the same.”
Doing What’s Right for Milwaukee
Mayor Tom Barrett tried to clear the air immediately after the decision was announced: “The City of Milwaukee Health Department issued a public health order on March 25, 2020 to protect public health and reduce the spread of COVID-19. That order remains in effect, including all provisions on public gatherings, restaurants, and bar operations.” In a Zoom meeting on Thursday, Barrett wasn’t as nice.
“I don’t want to make this a political sideshow or anything out of this but I just have to say that I honestly felt the Wisconsin Supreme Court acted like a jukebox for the Republican leadership in the legislature,” Barrett said. “Where they put in a coin and the Supreme Court just sang the song they wanted them to sing and that’s unfortunate because there are lives at stake.”
Barrett went on to paint a dark picture of what the city has been going through since the first case of coronavirus was documented on March 13. On April 7, Election Day, there were 39 deaths from coronavirus in the county. Now, 35 days later, there are over six times that number of deaths.
“People are dying and people are getting sick,” Barrett added. “We have a responsibility to our public to do what’s right.”
Wisconsin’s Jigsaw Puzzle
Barrett describes the jigsaw puzzle of different orders throughout the state of Wisconsin, which is exactly what he was afraid of. Milwaukee County has avoided that and Barrett hopes other counties from the state will see that and recognize that public health should be at the top of the list, no matter what. The 18 municipalities in the county surrounding the city of Milwaukee came together and adopted just about the same method.
During that same meeting, Director of the Greenfield Health Department, Darren Rausch added. “The epidemiology of COVID-19 did not change yesterday. The disease is still occurring at high levels in our community.”
Rausch came prepared with visuals on the growth of the virus. The previous peak, which was in early April, has been surpassed. This is in part due to increased testing capabilities, but there are still huge concerns over operating too quickly in reopening the city and state for business.
The common theme in all of these responses to the Supreme Court decision is that the goal is to safely reopen the Milwaukee County but most importantly, to minimize COVID-19’s anticipated second and third peaks.
Another Thursday update came from the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s (MMAC) daily COVID-19 update, hosted by the group’s president Tim Sheehy. Guests on the program included Steve Baas, MMAC Senior Vice President of Government Affairs; and Medical College of Wisconsin President and CEO, Dr. John Raymond.
Raymond stressed physical distancing, washing hands regularly and wearing a facemask in public; the importance of reopening the economy safely was pushed by Baas.
A ‘Live Experiment’?
“This is a position we were going to be in no matter what,” said Baas. “At some point we were going to have the training wheels taken off of government mandates and guidelines. […] We’ve entered a new era of responsible freedom, and I think that’s the punchline for how we’re operating now. This is going to be a live experiment, epidemiologically speaking and economically speaking.” With different counties around southeast Wisconsin imposing their own separate orders, Baas talks about how much different things are going to be moving forward for opening retail stores from county to county. Mayfair Mall is going to be dealing with a different reality than Brookfield Square Mall, since Milwaukee County has restrictions in place that aren’t there in Waukesha County.
Looking at hospitalization and infection rates over the next week to 10 days will be the real mark for loosening restrictions.
“I’m not going to make dire predictions,” Raymond said. “I’m disappointed that we lack a coordinated response, and that concerns me somewhat. We’re in a much better place now than we were six or eight weeks ago. […] The public health infrastructure has been enhanced and their coordination is much better.”
No Clear Determinations?
Louise Petering is President of the Milwaukee County branch of Wisconsin’s League of Women Voters and has a background is in biology and chemistry.
“I look at this from the perspective of experimentation and having a control,” she said. “Well, that’s not possible in this situation. […] There is no real clear way to make exact determinations, except, I do think the best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to the virus.”
Petering remains focused on the goal of the League. “Our basic concern is that the public can vote safely. Our website highlights eight pointers that every voter should know, about absentee and early voting in Wisconsin. That continues to be our message.
“We’re not going get into partisan arguments about who did what right and wrong. We’re past April 7 and we’re concerned about Aug. 11 and Nov. 3.”
