Judge halts Racine’s reopening restrictions

A judge put a temporary hold Friday on the city of Racine’s restrictions for reopening its economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city’s public health department’s Forward Racine plan offers a set of standards for the gradual reopening of Racine, Wind Point and Elmwood Park, including capacity limits at local businesses.

Racine County Judge Jon Fredrickson put a temporary injunction order on the plan and denied a request for a stay.

Fredrickson’s order came in a court case involving a lawsuit filed by the owner of a local gym. It cited the Supreme Court’s decision last month striking down Gov. Tony Evers’ safer-at-home order, reports the Racine Journal Times.

While Racine has some of the highest per capita number of COVID-19 cases in the state, it’s recently seen a reduction in rates, noted Racine Mayor Cory Mason, who blasted the decision.

“The judge’s recklessness jeopardizes the public health gains we have made and will endanger the health of our residents,” Mason said in a statement.

Racine Public Health Administrator Dottie-Kay Bowersox said she believed the local order was working and encouraged local residents to stay home as much as possible to limit the spread of the disease.

The Racine Common Council plans to take up an ordinance modeled on the plan on Monday night during a special meeting.

Over the weekend, Milwaukee County surpassed Racine County as having the highest rate of cases per 100,000 in the state.

As of Sunday, there were 1,076 positive cases per 100,000 people in Milwaukee County, compared to 1,065 per 100,000 in Racine County.

The number of confirmed cases in Wisconsin increased over the weekend to 24,819, as 665 additional cases of COVID-19 were reported.

There were 14 more deaths reported on Saturday and none were reported Sunday. Total deaths as of Sunday afternoon were 744.

The percent of positive tests out of total tests reported was 4.6 percent as of Sunday, the highest rate since 5.3 percent on May 30.

There were also 6,051 test results reported, the lowest since 3,630 on June 1.