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COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to increase in Wisconsin

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The state of Wisconsin recorded 28 more deaths related to COVID-19 over the previous 24 hours on Wednesday, and 153 more people were hospitalized, according to latest numbers from the Department of Health Services.

DHS said just over 83 percent of the state’s available hospital beds were occupied, by COVID and non-COVID patients.

A state health official warned that Wisconsin hospitals are in a “crisis.” That assessment came Wednesday afternoon, from Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk

“And so order or no order, I strongly encourage people in the state to avoid any type of mass gathering, wear your mask, stay six feet apart, and stay home if you are ill,” Willems Van Dijk said during a media conference call.

A Sawyer County judge has struck down an Evers’ administration order limiting mass gatherings. Willems Van Dijk said gathering in crowded indoor spaces “is not a helpful way” to slow the spread

“This is not just about if you need hospitalization for COVID. This is about crowding our hospitals for every other type of care that any one of us could need.” she said. “So what we need people to do in the state is take this seriously, in terms of your own personal behavior, to stop the spread of this, or the repercussions could come back to haunt you and your family.”

As of Tuesday, Wisconsin hospitals were treating more than 950 COVID-19 patients.

 

Judge halts Evers’ order on public gatherings and capacities

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A northern Wisconsin judge has temporarily blocked Governor Tony Evers’ order limiting indoor gatherings.

Evers’ order caps the number of people who can gather in bars, restaurants, and many other businesses at 25-percent of capacity. Wisconsin set another record for single-day COVID-19 cases Tuesday.

The temporary restraining order from Sawyer County Judge John Yackel halts the order, after the Tavern League of Wisconsin and a Sawyer County tavern, The Flambeau Forest Inn, sued to halt its implementation. A court date is set for Monday in Hayward.

Evers’ order went into effect last Thursday, and it is scheduled to last until November 6th.

Evers’ letter requests meeting with legislative leaders on coronavirus response

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Governor Tony Evers has sent a letter to Republican legislative leaders, requesting  a meeting to discuss the state’s COVID-19 response.

Evers’ letter states that he wants Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald to join him for negotiations on future plans. The Democrat Evers says he welcomes feedback from Vos and Fitzgerald.

“I welcome the opportunity to meet with both of you to discuss our state response. Given it has been 180 days since the Legislature last passed a bill and that you have repeatedly-through costly litigation and your public comments-expressed opposition to nearly every action my administration has taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, I am eager to ensure our meeting is productive.”

The governor’s letter, sent Monday, said now isn’t the time to weaken Wisconsin’s response to the virus. The number of positive test results for COVID-19 in Wisconsin has more than doubled in recent weeks.

As of Tuesday morning Vos and Fitzgerald had yet to respond to the letter.

State exceeds 900 hospitalized COVID-19 patients

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More than 900 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in Wisconsin on Monday.

According to the latest totals updated Sunday, 889 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, 235 of them in intensive care.

The state Department of Health Services on Monday reported 56 more people were admitted to hospitals, amid continued concerns over the strain the pandemic is placing on health care resources.

Including all patients, 83.1% of hospital beds are in use and 85.1% of ICU beds. DHS also reported 1,956 positive tests and 9 deaths.

Committee requires latest public health order to go through rule-making process

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The state legislature’s Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative rules has ordered the Evers’ administration to go through the formal rule-making process, to implement the governor’s order limiting the size of indoor gatherings due to the coronavirus.

“We have no emergency rule. We’d love to have an emergency rule, that we could have a public hearing on, but we don’t have one,” Committee co-chair, Representative Joan Balweg (R-Markesan) said Monday “And actually that’s why the department has declined to call in or appear at this meeting, because there is no emergency rule to discuss.”

The committee voted 6-4 to require the Department of Health Services to present an emergency rule within 30 days. There were some heated comments made by committee members, prior to that vote.

Representative Gary Hebl (D-Sun Prairie), leveled a charge at Republicans who have not taken any action during the pandemic.

“So no action tells me that the way it’s going is the way you want it to go,” Hebl said “You’re in control of the legislature. The legislature makes the law. And if you’re not willing to do that, then you have blood on your hands, these people are going to die because of your inaction.”

“We can come together, and use the emergency rule process, to provide a more comprehensive discussion regarding our response,” Ballweg said.

The latest order, which limits gatherings in public spaces to 25% of capacity, expires November 6th. If the Evers’ administration chooses to extend it, the committee could block that.

AARP Poll finds heightened concern over coronavirus

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The latest AARP Poll of older Wisconsin voters finds those 65 and over solidly support the Democratic candidate for president.

“They are supporting Vice President Biden by an 11 point margin” said Lisa Lampkins of AARP Wisconsin. “And I think we’re seeing a lot of that happen because concerns around the coronavirus are increasing.”

“In September . . . 53 percent of 50 plus voters were worried about getting the virus. Now in October . . . a full 65 percent of all Wisconsin voters age 50 plus are worried about getting the virus.”

There hasn’t been much movement on voter preferences. Biden has a narrow 49 to 46 percent lead over President Trump among those 50 and over.

‘VoteSafe Wisconsin’ aims to reassure voters of integrity of state’s elections

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A bipartisan effort aims to let prospective voters know it can be done safely. VoteSafe Wisconsin is led by Attorney General Josh Kaul — and former Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.

“Vote Safe Wisconsin came to be because we really have a robustly and safe election system here in Wisconsin,” Van Hollen said.

Van Hollen said they want to people to know that voting in person can be done safely, and that voting absentee is also a viable option.

“With all the national talk about safety and security of voting being in question, we wanted to make sure that people of Wisconsin knew that if they wanted to go to polling places, it’s a safe place to vote. And if they wanted to vote via absentee ballot, it was certainly a secure and safe way to vote as well.”

He hopes those voters who choose the latter option will do so in a timely manner

“We don’t want them to be flooding the postal service last minute. So we’re strongly encouraging people if they’re going to vote absentee to so early.”

Find more information at wi.votesafe.us.

Wisconsin COVID-19 cases top 150,000

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Wisconsin’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases has now exceeded 150,000 since the start of the pandemic.

The Department of Health Services on Sunday confirmed 2,676 new coronavirus cases out of just over 10,000 tests. Just under 29,000 are considered active, about 900 more than the previous day.

Seven more deaths were reported, bringing Wisconsin’s death toll to 1,465. The seven-day average of deaths is now 12.57.

The seven-day rate of positive tests by person rose to 18.6 percent, the highest rate yet. The positive rate by test 9.8 percent means 9.8 percent of the tests given in the past seven days were positive, while 18.6 percent of the people tested were positive.

More poll workers will be needed in Wisconsin

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More poll workers are needed for Election Day in Wisconsin. Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin’s chief elections administrator, said that’s in part because of the large number of absentee ballots that will need to be processed at polling places.

“So you’re running that in person process, but you’re also processing all those absentee ballots, because processing those can’t start until the polls open at 7:00 AM on Election Day,” Wolfe said during a media conference call on Thursday.

Tens of thousands of absentee ballots have already been returned to clerks offices across Wisconsin, as concerns about the coronavirus pandemic have lead many voters to chose that option to vote.

Wolfe says a normal election requires some 30 thousand poll workers to function smoothly, and this year will undoubtedly require more.

“In each city, town and village they’re recruiting those poll workers. They’re figuring out who’s going to able to serve and where they still have needs. And so they’ve told us in the last few weeks that it was too soon for them to know for sure. But we’re now asking them to really tighten up those calculations and provide us with any reports of needs.”

Data released Friday by Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with the Voter Protection Corps, identifies 485 counties across eight states, including Wisconsin, that are at high risk for poll worker shortages.

Wolfe said that while many localities have enough workers, others, especially in rural Wisconsin, do not. The state Elections Commission hopes to have a clearer assessment of those needs, soon.

“I would encourage anybody to reach out to your local election official if it’s something you’re willing to do,” she said.

Federal appeals court reverses ruling on ballot counting extension

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The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked a decision to extend the deadline for counting absentee ballots in Wisconsin.

That means absentee ballots must be delivered to clerks by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted, and results of the presidential race could be known within hours of polls closing.

Democrats and their allies are likely to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If it stands, the latest court action, which blocked an a decision to extend the deadline for counting absentee ballots will actually make things easier at polling places.

“The court’s decision that got stayed would have changed things. So we’re back to status quo. Everybody’s already trained on what to do normally. So if it changes again, then we’ll look to communicating with them about what those changes are,” Reid Magney, public information officer with the Wisconsin Elections Commission said Thursday.

U.S. District Judge William Conley had ruled ballots which arrive by November 9 would be counted, as long as they’re postmarked by Election Day. Republicans appealed to a three-judge panel at the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld Conley’s ruling last week.

Republicans then asked the full 11 member court to review the case. The court stayed Conley’s decision on Thursday.