State health officials believe there’s community spread of coronavirus

State health officials said Monday that they believe there’s community spread of the new coronavirus in Wisconsin.

There were 47 confirmed cases as of Monday afternoon, including the one recovered case.

Dr. Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer of the Bureau of Communicable Diseases at the Department of Health Services, said they interview cases about their travel history and contact with others.

While the data collection about the new cases isn’t complete, they’ve heard from people with the illness who don’t have a travel history or exposure to a previous known case.

“That is sufficient for us to say they’re not travel-associated and likely reflect person-to-person spread inside Wisconsin,” he said on a press call.

Westergaard said that he doesn’t think COVID-19 is in all Wisconsin communities, but is worried it could be in the future.

He called for social distancing measures.

Gov. Tony Evers on Monday directed DHS to ban mass gatherings of 50 or more people, starting midnight.

After Evers’ announcement, the White House recommended that people avoid gatherings of more than 10 people Monday afternoon.

Evers said that the Trump administration’s message isn’t that different than the state’s message.

“I’d say avoid people, period,” Evers said. “But that is not a mandate. Our mandate is around 50, and that’s where it will be until such time that we believe we need to change it. We believe it’s reasonable.”

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