MADISON, WI – Governor Tony Evers directed the Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-designee Andrea Palm to issue an agency order prohibiting mass gatherings of 10 people or more to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Effective at 5:00 p.m on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, all bars and restaurants shall close in the State of Wisconsin.
“Our top priority at this time is to keep Wisconsinites safe and healthy by reducing the spread of COVID-19, especially for those who are considered high-risk. With limited tests available nationwide and continued community spread, we have to take every precaution to protect ourselves, our families, and our neighbors,” said Gov. Evers. “I know what this means for our small business owners and the struggles they and their workers will face in the coming weeks, but we are committed to working with our federal partners, state officials, and stakeholders to ensure we are doing everything we can to assist during these uncertain times.”
According to Governor Tony Evers, a “Mass Gathering” is any planned or spontaneous, public or private event or convening that will bring together or is likely to bring together 10 or more people in a single room or single confined or enclosed space at the same time.
The direction by the Governor also dictates that any gathering of fewer than 10 people must preserve social distancing of 6 feet between people and follow all other public health recommendations issued by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Centers for Disease Control.
The order makes exceptions for transportation, educational institutions, child care, hotels, military, law enforcement, food pantries, hospitals, long-term care facilities, restaurants, and bars can only offer take-out or delivery, grocery stores and convenience stores, utility facilities, job centers, and courts.
See full order and list of exemptions here. Additionally, schools will be closed for the duration of the public health emergency.
Community Spread
We are seeing community spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin. This means that there are people who have tested positive who have no exposures to a known case nor did they travel to a location where there is known community spread. Today, we have cases in Milwaukee, Dane and Kenosha counties indicating that there is a community spread happening in Wisconsin. Social distancing will help keep you, your family, and our community from increased risk of exposure.
DHS and Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene to move to tiered COVID-19 testing to manage capacity
Despite The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) significantly increase their capacity for COVID-19 testing, the number of testing specimens being received far exceeds their daily capacity. In order to conserve supplies for testing, WSLH and DHS are now prioritizing two tiers of cases for testing:
Tier One (Individuals who):
- are critically ill and receiving ICU level care with unexplained viral pneumonia or respiratory failure
- are hospitalized (non-ICU) with fever or signs and symptoms of lower respiratory tract illness (cough, shortness of breath) and either known exposure to a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patient or travel to an area with sustained community transmission
Tier Two (Individuals who):
- are hospitalized (non-ICU) with unexplained fever and signs/symptoms of lower respiratory tract illness
- are health care workers with unexplained fever and signs/symptoms of a lower-respiratory illness, regardless of hospitalization
Test requests that do not meet these criteria will be sent to other labs in the state and country for testing, resulting in longer wait times.
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