Gov. Evers to issue new public health emergency

There will be a media briefing at 1:30 today on COVID-19 with Governor Evers and others. It would not be surprising if the Governor discussed the package of bills he sent to the legislature yesterday on COVID-19. 

Who:

• Governor Tony Evers
• Secretary-designee Andrea Palm, Wisconsin Department of Health Services 
• Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Chief Medical Officer, DHS Bureau of Communicable Diseases
• Ryan Nilsestuen, Chief Legal Counsel, Office of the Governor

When: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at 1:30 p.m.       

Gov. Evers:

As of yesterday our rate of infection has increased by three times. At this rate we may have 5000 deaths by the end of the year. 

The current health emergency expires on Saturday, Nov. 21. The governor is declaring a new emergency lasting until January, and is re-issuing the order on face coverings.. These will go into place tomorrow  or the day after. He is calling on the Republicans in the legislature to support these measures. The Governor also asked people to cooperate with mask-wearing and staying at home.

Secretary-designee Palm:

1/3 of Wisconsin hospitals are reporting a critical staffing shortage. In 2 regions every hospital in the region has activated their surge plan. ICU's are filling. 9 of our ICU's are at 100% capacity. There are 7980 new cases today. 52 more Wisconsinites have lost their lives since yesterday. As scary as this picture is, it will only get worse before it gets better. 

Questions:

The Governor was asked about the WEAC letter asking the state to have uniform rules for schools throughout the state. The Governor and staff are looking at that letter and will respond in the near future.