Evers declares new public health emergency
Gov. Tony Evers declared a new public health emergency and indoor mask mandate Thursday afternoon, after the Assembly voted to end his orders that were set to end in mid-March.
The new orders take effect immediately. The emergency order will expire in 60 days and the indoor mask mandate on March 20, unless the Senate and Assembly act.
Evers said that Thursday’s actions by legislators put at risk nearly $50 million a month in federal funds that go toward helping low-income Wisconsinites afford food.
“Our fight against this virus isn’t over,” he said in a video. “It’s not going away, especially as we see mutations of this virus in our state and others.”
Republican leaders in the Senate and Assembly plan to sign a resolution on Friday ending the orders released by Evers in January.
They argue that Evers has exceeded his authority by declaring multiple public health emergencies related to COVID-19.
Representatives for Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, did not immediately return requests for comment.
The Department of Health Services reported 1,518 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, for a total of 546,955.
Forty-one more people died, for a total of 5,992.
An additional 7,174 people were tested, for a total of 3,070,057.
DHS considers 16,684 cases active.
The seven-day average for daily new cases is 1,229, down 41 from Wednesday and 234 from a week ago.
The seven-day average for daily new deaths is 26, up three from Wednesday and down three from a week ago.
As of Wednesday, the seven-day positivity rate by person was 19.4 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from Tuesday and the same as a week ago.
The rate by test was 4.9 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from Tuesday and 0.7 percentage points from a week ago.
No patients were at the surge facility in West Allis on Thursday.
Vaccinators administered 659,025 shots in the state as of Wednesday, with 129,766 Wisconsinites completing their vaccination series.
