Brown County rescinds safer-at-home order

Brown County rescinded its stay-at-home order on Friday afternoon, with officials telling reporters they didn’t think the order could survive a legal challenge.

The county issued its own order Wednesday, after the Supreme Court struck down the state’s safer-at-home order.

David Hemery, Brown County corporation counsel, said that they issued the order to stem a potential “flood” of people going out in public following the Supreme Court’s decision.

But he said that changed after Gov. Tony Evers and legislators met Thursday without offering new guidelines. Hemery said that the safer-at-home order could only be effective if it’s for the whole state.

“We can’t seal our borders,” he told reporters. “If other individuals are coming and going, no matter how much we lock down our own population, in my opinion from what I saw, it just would not be effective.”

Brown County Public Health Officer Anna Destree rescinded the order immediately Friday, citing advice from Hemery. She urged all county residents to follow the order’s guidelines.

She told reporters they’re hoping to educate people on state and federal guidance on the virus, adding that it’s OK for businesses to wait to open until they’re comfortable.

“We don’t want to be right back here in a couple of months,” she said. “We’ve all got to do our part.”

Brown County had 2,034 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the second-highest number in the state. It also has the highest rate of positive cases per 100,000 people, according to state data.

The Department of Health Services reported 410 additional confirmed cases of the disease, bringing the total to 11,685. There were 11 more deaths for a total of 445 in the state.

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