Governor Tony Evers WRN image
Wisconsin’s coronavirus infection rate appears to be slowing down. The Department of Health Services on Tuesday reported 127 additional cases. That brings the state’s total to 3,555 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Three counties are reporting deaths for the first time today: Dodge, Door, and Kewaunee. Please, stay #SaferAtHome. Together we can #StopTheSpread of #COVID19_WI. pic.twitter.com/hNSeoEHR4T
— WIDeptHealthServices (@DHSWI) April 14, 2020
Public health professionals say the state is flattening the curve, and seeing fewer new infections. No one one knows when Wisconsin will see its coronavirus peak.
In an interview Tuesday with KBJR-TV in Duluth, Governor Tony Evers said it may another month, before he lifts his statewide “Safer at Home” order.
“If we don’t have the testing in place, if we don’t have those contact investigators in place, if we don’t have the . . . PPE equipment in place, you and I will be talking about this next year.”
Ever’s stay-at-home and school closure orders are set to expire on April 24. Evers said lifting the orders won’t be “like flipping a switch.” He added it’s unlikely schools will re-open but he hasn’t made a final decision.
Monday’s was the smallest daily increase in new cases in nearly three weeks. Medical College of Wisconsin CEO Doctor John Raymond said the state currently ranks in the top 10 for its results.
Raymond said we need to see five benchmarks before returning to normal – sustained reduction in cases for two weeks, making tests available for everyone with symptoms, having the ability to treat all patients at a hospital without crisis standards, having adequate personal protective equipment for health care workers, and developing the ability to contact trace cases in real-time.