COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin

The global COVID-19 pandemic struck the U.S. state of Wisconsin in early February 2020.[1] As of August 16, 2020, Wisconsin public health authorities reported 685 cases of COVID-19, for a cumulative total of 65,741 cases.[2] Twenty-nine hospitalizations and one new death were reported over the past 24 hours, increasing the statewide death toll to 1,039.[2] Although Wisconsin has so far experienced just 178 deaths per million population, compared to the national average of 523, COVID-19 is on track to be one of the leading causes of death in Wisconsin in 2020.[3][4]

COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin
Map of the outbreak in Wisconsin by confirmed new infections per 100,000 people (14 days preceding August 15)
  500+ confirmed new cases
  200–500 confirmed new cases
  100–200 confirmed new cases
  50–100 confirmed new cases
  20–50 confirmed new cases
  10–20 confirmed new cases
  0–10 confirmed new cases
  No confirmed new cases or no data
Map of the outbreak in Wisconsin by total confirmed infections per 100,000 people (as of August 15)
  3,000+ confirmed infected
  1,000–3,000 confirmed infected
  300–1,000 confirmed infected
  100–300 confirmed infected
  30–100 confirmed infected
  0–30 confirmed infected
  No confirmed infected or no data
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationWisconsin, U.S.
Index caseMadison
Arrival dateFebruary 5, 2020
Confirmed cases65,741 (2020-08-16)
Hospitalized cases329 (current)
5,304 (cumulative)
Critical cases94 (current)
Recovered55,982
Deaths
1,039
Government website
www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/

A steady upward trend of new COVID-19 cases in late June/early July accelerated in mid July, with several new single day records reported in late July.[2] In response to July's rising case and death tolls, Governor Tony Evers issued a face mask mandate on August 1 for all citizens over age 5 while in any enclosed space that is not a private home.[5] Since the mask mandate went into effect the seven-day moving average of new cases has decreased from 876 on August 1 to 741 cases on August 16.

COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin, United States  ()
     Deaths        Recoveries        Active cases

Feb Feb Aug Aug Mar Mar Apr Apr May May Jun Jun Jul Jul Aug Aug Last 15 days Last 15 days

Date
# of cases
# of deaths
2020-02-05 1 0
... 1 0
2020-03-09
2(+1/+100.0%) 0
2020-03-10
3(+1/+50.0%) 0
2020-03-11
6(+3/+100.0%) 0
2020-03-12
8(+2/+33.3%) 0
2020-03-13
19(+11/+137.5%) 0
2020-03-14
27(+8/+42.1%) 0
2020-03-15
33(+6/+22.2%) 0
2020-03-16
47(+14/+42.4%) 0
2020-03-17
72(+25/+53.2%) 0
2020-03-18
106(+34/+47.2%) 0
2020-03-19
155(+49/+46.2%) 2(+2)
2020-03-20
206(+51/+32.9%) 3(+1/+50.0%)
2020-03-21
281(+75/+36.4%) 4(+1/+33.3%)
2020-03-22
381(+100/+35.6%) 4(+0/+0.0%)
2020-03-23
416(+35/+9.2%) 5(+1/+25.0%)
2020-03-24
457(+41/+9.9%) 5(+0/+0.0%)
2020-03-25
585(+128/+28.0%) 6(+1/+20.0%)
2020-03-26
707(+122/+20.9%) 8(+2/+33.3%)
2020-03-27
842(+135/+19.1%) 13(+5/+62.5%)
2020-03-28
989(+147/+17.5%) 13(+0/+0.0%)
2020-03-29
1,112(+123/+12.4%) 13(+0/+0.0%)
2020-03-30
1,221(+109/+9.8%) 14(+1/+7.7%)
2020-03-31
1,351(+130/+10.6%) 16(+2/+14.3%)
2020-04-01
1,550(+199/+14.7%) 24(+8/+50.0%)
2020-04-02
1,730(+180/+11.6%) 31(+7/+29.2%)
2020-04-03
1,916(+186/+10.8%) 37(+6/+19.4%)
2020-04-04
2,112(+196/+10.2%) 56(+19/+51.4%)
2020-04-05
2,267(+155/+7.3%) 68(+12/+21.4%)
2020-04-06
2,440(+173/+7.6%) 77(+9/+13.2%)
2020-04-07
2,578(+138/+5.7%) 92(+15/+19.5%)
2020-04-08
2,756(+178/+6.9%) 99(+7/+7.6%)
2020-04-09
2,885(+129/+4.7%) 111(+12/+12.1%)
2020-04-10
3,068(+183/+6.3%) 128(+17/+15.3%)
2020-04-11
3,213(+145/+4.7%) 137(+9/+7.0%)
2020-04-12
3,341(+128/+4.0%) 144(+7/+5.1%)
2020-04-13
3,428(+87/+2.6%) 154(+10/+6.9%)
2020-04-14
3,555(+127/+3.7%) 170(+16/+10.4%)
2020-04-15
3,721(+166/+4.7%) 182(+12/+7.1%)
2020-04-16
3,875(+154/+4.1%) 197(+15/+8.2%)
2020-04-17
4,045(+170/+4.4%) 205(+8/+4.1%)
2020-04-18
4,199(+154/+3.8%) 211(+6/+2.4%)
2020-04-19
4,346(+147/+3.5%) 220(+9/+4.3%)
2020-04-20
4,499(+153/+3.5%) 230(+10/4.5%)
2020-04-21
4,620(+121/+2.7%) 242(+12/5.2%)
2020-04-22
4,845(+225/+4.9%) 246(+4/1.7%)
2020-04-23
5,052(+207/+4.3%) 257(+11/4.5%)
2020-04-24
5,356(+304/+6.0%) 262(+5/1.9%)
2020-04-25
5,687(+331/+6.2%) 266(+4/1.5%)
2020-04-26
5,911(+224/+3.9%) 272(+6/2.3%)
2020-04-27
6,081(+170/+2.9%) 281(+9/3.3%)
2020-04-28
6,289(+208/+3.4%) 300(+19/6.8%)
2020-04-29
6,520(+231/+3.7%) 308(+8/2.7%)
2020-04-30
6,854(+334/+5.1%) 316(+8/2.6%)
2020-05-01
7,314(+460/+6.7%) 327(+11/3.5%)
2020-05-02
7,660(+346/+4.7%) 334(+7/2.1%)
2020-05-03
7,964(+304/+4.0%) 339(+5/1.5%)
2020-05-04
8,236(+272/+3.4%) 340(+1/0.3%)
2020-05-05
8,566(+330/+4.0%) 353(+13/3.8%)
2020-05-06
8,901(+335/+3.9%) 362(+9/2.5%)
2020-05-07
9,215(+314/+3.5%) 374(+12/3.3%)
2020-05-08
9,590(+375/+4.1%) 384(+10/2.7%)
2020-05-09
9,939(+349/+3.6%) 398(+14/3.6%)
2020-05-10
10,219(+280/+2.8%) 400(+2/0.5%)
2020-05-11
10,417(+198/+1.9%) 409(+9/2.3%)
2020-05-12
10,611(+193/+1.9%) 418(+9/2.2%)
2020-05-13
10,902(+291/+2.7%) 421(+3/0.7%)
2020-05-14
11,275(+373/+3.4%) 434(+13/3.1%)
2020-05-15
11,685(+410/+3.6%) 445(+11/2.5%)
2020-05-16
12,187(+502/+4.3%) 453(+8/1.8%)
2020-05-17
12,543(+356/+2.9%) 453(+0/0%)
2020-05-18
12,687(+144/+1.1%) 459(+6/1.3%)
2020-05-19
12,885(+198/+1.6%) 467(+8/1.7%)
2020-05-20
13,413(+528/+4.1%) 481(+14/3.0%)
2020-05-21
13,885(+472/+3.5%) 487(+6/1.2%)
2020-05-22
14,396(+511/+3.7%) 496(+9/1.8%)
2020-05-23
14,877(+481/+3.3%) 507(+11/2.2%)
2020-05-24
15,277(+400/+2.7%) 510(+3/0.6%)
2020-05-25
15,584(+307/+2.0%) 514(+4/0.8%)
2020-05-26
15,863(+279/+1.8%) 517(+3/0.6%)
2020-05-27
16,462(+599/+3.8%) 539(+22/4.3%)
2020-05-28
16,974(+512/+3.1%) 550(+11/2.0%)
2020-05-29
17,707(+733/+4.3%) 568(+18/3.3%)
2020-05-30
18,230(+523/+3.0%) 588(+20/3.5%)
2020-05-31
18,403(+173/+0.9%) 592(+4/0.7%)
2020-06-01
18,543(+140/+0.8%) 595(+3/0.5%)
2020-06-02
18,917(+374/+2.0%) 607(+12/2.0%)
2020-06-03
19,400(+483/+2.6%) 616(+9/1.5%)
2020-06-04
19,892(+492/+2.5%) 626(+10/1.6%)
2020-06-05
20,249(+357/+1.8%) 633(+7/1.1%)
2020-06-06
20,571(+322/+1.6%) 645(+12/1.9%)
2020-06-07
20,835(+264/+1.3%) 647(+2/0.3%)
2020-06-08
21,038(+203/+1.0%) 646(-1/-0.2%)
2020-06-09
21,308(+270/+1.3%) 661(+15/2.3%)
2020-06-10
21,593(+285/+1.3%) 671(+10/1.5%)
2020-06-11
21,926(+333/+1.5%) 682(+11/1.6%)
2020-06-12
22,246(+320/+1.5%) 689(+7/1.0%)
2020-06-13
22,518(+272/+1.2%) 691(+2/0.3%)
2020-06-14
22,758(+240/+1.1%) 692(+1/0.2%)
2020-06-15
22,932(+174/+0.8%) 694(+2/0.3%)
2020-06-16
23,198(+266/+1.2%) 703(+9/1.3%)
2020-06-17
23,454(+256/+1.1%) 712(+9/1.3%)
2020-06-18
23,876(+422/+1.8%) 719(+7/1.0%)
2020-06-19
24,154(+278/+1.2%) 730(+11/1.5%)
2020-06-20
24,539(+385/+1.6%) 744(+14/1.9%)
2020-06-21
24,819(+280/+1.1%) 744(+0/0.0%)
2020-06-22
25,068(+249/+1.0%) 745(+1/0.1%)
2020-06-23
25,331(+263/+1.0%) 750(+5/0.7%)
2020-06-24
25,763(+432/+1.7%) 757(+7/0.9%)
2020-06-25
26,227(+464/+1.8%) 766(+9/1.2%)
2020-06-26
26,747(+520/+2.0%) 766(+0/0.0%)
2020-06-27
27,286(+539/+2.0%) 777(+11/1.4%)
2020-06-28
27,743(+457/+1.7%) 777(+0/0.0%)
2020-06-29
28,058(+315/+1.1%) 777(+0/0.0%)
2020-06-30
28,659(+601/+2.1%) 784(+7/0.9%)
2020-07-01
29,199(+540/+1.9%) 786(+2/0.3%)
2020-07-02
29,738(+539/+1.8%) 793(+7/0.9%)
2020-07-03
30,317(+579/+1.9%) 796(+3/0.4%)
2020-07-04
31,055(+738/+2.4%) 796(+0/0.0%)
2020-07-05
31,577(+522/+1.7%) 796(+0/0.0%)
2020-07-06
32,061(+484/+1.5%) 796(+0/0.0%)
2020-07-07
32,556(+495/+1.5%) 805(+9/1.1%)
2020-07-08
33,154(+598/+1.8%) 807(+2/0.2%)
2020-07-09
33,908(+754/+2.3%) 809(+2/0.2%)
2020-07-10
34,753(+845/+2.5%) 814(+5/0.6%)
2020-07-11
35,679(+926/+2.7%) 821(+7/0.9%)
2020-07-12
36,448(+769/+2.2%) 820(-1/-0.1%)
2020-07-13
36,942(+494/+1.4%) 820(+0/0.0%)
2020-07-14
37,906(+964/+2.6%) 826(+6/0.7%)
2020-07-15
38,727(+821/+2.2%) 827(+1/0.1%)
2020-07-16
39,627(+900/+2.3%) 831(+4/0.5%)
2020-07-17
40,507(+880/+2.2%) 833(+2/0.2%)
2020-07-18
41,485(+978/+2.4%) 843(+10/1.2%)
2020-07-19
42,315(+830/+2.0%) 844(+1/0.1%)
2020-07-20
43,018(+703/+1.7%) 846(+2/0.2%)
2020-07-21
44,135(+1,117/+2.6%) 859(+13/1.5%)
2020-07-22
44,847(+712/+1.6%) 865(+6/0.7%)
2020-07-23
45,899(+1,052/+2.3%) 878(+13/1.5%)
2020-07-24
46,917(+1,018/+2.2%) 878(+0/0.0%)
2020-07-25
47,870(+953/+2.0%) 891(+13/1.5%)
2020-07-26
48,827(+957/+2.0%) 892(+1/0.1%)
2020-07-27
49,417(+590/+1.2%) 893(+1/0.1%)
2020-07-28
50,179(+762/+1.5%) 906(+13/1.5%)
2020-07-29
51,049(+870/+1.7%) 911(+5/0.6%)
2020-07-30
52,108(+1,059/+2.1%) 919(+8/0.9%)
2020-07-31
52,940(+832/+1.6%) 934(+15/1.6%)
2020-08-01
54,002(+1,062/+2.0%) 947(+13/1.4%)
2020-08-02
54,924(+922/+1.7%) 948(+1/0.1%)
2020-08-03
55,328(+404/+0.7%) 949(+1/0.1%)
2020-08-04
56,056(+728/+1.3%) 961(+12/1.3%)
2020-08-05
56,940(+884/+1.6%) 970(+9/0.9%)
2020-08-06
57,779(+839/+1.5%) 978(+8/0.8%)
2020-08-07
58,768(+989/+1.7%) 990(+12/1.2%)
2020-08-08
59,993(+1,165/+2.0%) 996(+6/0.6%)
2020-08-09
60,554(+621/+1.0%) 998(+2/0.2%)
2020-08-10
61,061(+507/+0.8%) 998(+0/0.0%)
2020-08-11
61,785(+724/+1.2%) 1,006(+8/0.8%)
2020-08-12
62,263(+478/+0.8%) 1,011(+5/0.5%)
2020-08-13
63,206(+943/+1.5%) 1,018(+7/0.7%)
2020-08-14
64,227(+1,021/+1.6%) 1,025(+7/0.7%)
2020-08-15
65,056(+829/+1.3%) 1,038(+13/1.3%)
2020-08-16
65,741(+685/+1.1%) 1,039(+1/0.1%)
Source: "COVID-19 – Wisconsin Department of Health Services". dhs.wisconsin.gov.

Timeline

February

On February 5, 2020, first COVID-19 case is registered in Wisconsin – a person had recently traveled to Beijing and was exposed there to a known COVID-19 patient.[1]

March

On March 10, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee announced that classes would begin to be moved online after an employee in the school's foundation office was tested for COVID-19.[6] On March 11, the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay announced that classes will be moved to "alternative delivery methods" going into effect immediately after spring break on March 23.[7] The University of Wisconsin–Madison announced a suspension of all in-person classes beginning March 23.[8]

On March 13, Governor Tony Evers ordered all schools (public and private) in the state to close by March 18, with no possibility of reopening until April 6 at the earliest.[9]

On March 17, community transmission, also known as community spread, was announced in Dane County.[10]

On March 27, Governor Evers declared a moratorium for 60 days on evictions and foreclosures.[11]

April

On April 24, thousands of anti-lockdown protesters gathered at the state capitol in Madison, the same day the state health department announced 304 new cases - the most new cases since the pandemic began.[12]

May

On May 8, the Wisconsin DHS announced that 72 individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 recently attended "a large event."[13]

June

On June 20, The Juneau County Department of Health announced that an outbreak occurred at a gentlemen's club in Wisconsin Dells with an unknown number of infected people visiting the club between June 10–14.[14]

From June 13–26, Dane County had an uptick of new cases with 614 people testing positive for COVID-19.[15] Roughly half of these cases were between the ages of 18-25 and almost half of these cases had reported attending a gathering or party with people outside of their household.[16] By the end of the month, Dane County had experienced multiple record-setting days of the highest totals of new cases per day in the county, and the trend continued of most new cases being younger people.[17][18]

By mid-way through 2020, Wisconsin had experienced 786 deaths and is expected to have the disease to be a new leading cause of death in the state according to associate professor of population sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. During the last week of June, Wisconsin experienced an upward trend in cases, but not a spike as seen in other states.[4]

July

Government responses

Brig. Gen. Joane Mathews, Wisconsin's deputy adjutant general for Army, answers media questions during a March 12 press conference at the State Emergency Operations Center in Madison.

On March 10, the Osceola School District closed schools to sanitize the buildings and buses after a person who attended a regional sports tournament was found to be infected.[19]

On March 12, Governor Tony Evers declared a State of Emergency.[20] The next day, he ordered the closure of all public and private K-12 schools in the state until at least April 5.[21] Most schools in the University of Wisconsin System, including Madison[22] and Stout,[23] have cancelled all in-person classes through early April.

On March 16, Evers announced restrictions on the number of people that could be present at childcare facilities, limiting it to 10 staff and 50 children at the same time.[24]

On March 17, a statewide ban of all gatherings with more than 10 people was announced by the governor.[25]

On March 23, Evers announced closures of all non-essential businesses to be signed on Tuesday, March 24, and urged citizens to stay at home to reduce the spread of COVID-19.[26]

On March 27, Governor Evers asked the legislature to approve a plan to send every registered voter in the state an absentee ballot so they could vote in the Democratic and Republican primaries, scheduled for April 7, by mail. Republicans opposed the plan. In Green Bay a judge turned down a request to delay the election but other lawsuits move forward.[27] Authorities also refused to delay the election, despite the ban on gatherings over ten and the fact that 111 jurisdictions that do not have enough people to staff even one polling place, and 60% of all Wisconsin towns and cities were reporting staffing shortages.[28]

On April 16, the 'Safer At Home' order was extended to be in effect until May 26.[29]

On April 17, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said he planned not to enforce the 'Safer At Home' order, stating constitutional rights of citizens as his reasoning.[30] His declaration is similar to concerns raised by four sheriffs in the state of Michigan.[31]

On April 21, the Wisconsin state legislature filed suit with the state supreme court, against the governor's 'Safer At Home' order calling the executive order an overreach of the executive branch's statutory powers.[32]

On April 24, Hartford Mayor Tim Michalak announced that businesses would be allowed to re-open on Monday April 27, despite the 'Safer-At-Home' order issued by Governor Evers. He directed the police department not to enforce the 'Safer-At-Home' order.[33]

On May 13, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Governor Evers 'Safer-At-Home' orders as unconstitutional. The order, issued by Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm, was ruled by the court to be "unlawful, invalid, and unenforceable".[34] Dane County reissued the 'Safer-At-Home' for themselves in response to the state supreme court's decision to strike down Governor Evers' order.[35][36]

One week after the Supreme Court decision Wisconsin reported 528 new COVID-19 cases, the largest single day rise in new COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.[37] The second, third, fourth and fifth highest numbers of new cases also occurred in the ten day period after the Court overruled Governor Evers' "Safer-At-Home" orders. However, average daily tests increased by an average of over 1000 tests per day statewide, while the average percentage of positive test results dropped by 25% during this same 1 week period.[38][2]

By May 27, two weeks after the Supreme Court overruled Governor Evers' "Safer-At-Home" orders, the seven-day moving average number of new COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin had climbed steadily from 286 to 436 cases per day.[2] The seven day moving average of new cases decreased in mid-June but then rose steadily to 822 by July 17.[39]

In June, the National Bureau of Economic Research published a report indicating that during the two week period following the Supreme Court's decision there was no evidence repealing the 'Safer-At-Home' order impacted social distancing, COVID-19 cases, or COVID-19 death rate.[40] The narrow time window of the NBER study missed the spike in new cases and deaths at the end of May, when single day records of new cases and deaths occurred. The 90 COVID-19 deaths that occurred during the week of May 27 to June 2 remains the highest weekly death toll in Wisconsin as of mid July.[2]

In mid-June, Racine County judge Jon Fredrickson issued a temporary injunction against the city of Racine's "Forward Racine" order. The order limited certain businesses such as gyms, restaurants, and bowling alleys to a capacity of 25% or a maximum of ten persons. The plaintiff, David Yandell, claimed that the order jeopardized his business's ability to survive.[41]

On July 2, following a sustained high number of new cases, Dane County issued order #7 that included limiting outdoor gatherings to 25 people, indoor gatherings to 10 people, and indoor dining capacity to 25% for restaurants, as well as prohibiting indoor dining in bars, a space of particular concern to health officials.[16]

On July 30, Governor Evers declared a public health emergency and issued an emergency order requiring people to wear a face mask when outside a private residence.[42]

Business responses

After it was announced that Governor Evers would extend the 'Safer At Home' executive order to May 26, the Tavern League of Wisconsin responded by expressing concerns about the devastating effect on the hospitality industry adversely affected by the order. Executive Director of the organization Pete Madland requested a 'soft opening' beginning May 1 with precautions utilized as it pertains to limiting the spread of the disease. The concern is that the original order has had adverse effects on the industry already and that another extension could cause many of the businesses within the industry to not survive.[43]

David Yandell, the owner of a gym, sued the city of Racine after the municipality issued its own stay at home order after the state supreme court struck down Governor Evers' order. Racine County judge Jon Fredrickson issued a temporary injunction against the order while a civil suit against the city is pursued.[41]

On April 16, 2020, Dave Eliot, the publisher of several Door County, Wisconsin periodicals[44] argued that locals should stop being so mean to those who support the local economy and advised people not shoot the golden goose. He also wanted locals to remember that resources such as the hospital were available to the community because of donations from seasonal residents.[45]

Citizenry responses

Thousands of citizens protested at the Capitol in Madison on Friday, April 24 in response to Governor Evers' extension of the 'Safer-At-Home' executive order. Among the reasons for protest include many businesses that have closed or significantly reduced the workforce, which has led to hundreds of thousands of unemployment claims. Also, churches have closed their doors and about 900,000 children are not in school.[46]

Religious responses

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee initially suspended all masses from March 18 through April 3. Also, Catholic schools would cease in-person instruction.[47] Archbishop Jerome Listecki later extended the suspension into Holy Week, including Easter Mass, choosing to live stream all such ceremonies from an otherwise empty Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (The archdiocese then paid for time on WVTV and WISN-TV to telecast both the Good Friday and Easter Masses live across the entire Milwaukee market).[48] In early May, Archbishop Listecki announced that masses could resume May 31 with churches filled at 25% capacity and lifting dispensation for Mass to July 5.[49] The dispensation from Mass has since been extended through September 6.[50]

Statistics by county

COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin by county
County Cases Deaths Population[51] Cases/100k Case Fatality
72/72 57,779 978 5,778,394 999.91 1.69%
Adams 82 2 20,073 408.51 2.44%
Ashland 22 1 15,712 140.02 4.55%
Barron 276 3 45,252 609.92 1.09%
Bayfield 21 1 14,992 140.07 4.76%
Brown 4,151 52 259,786 1,597.85 1.25%
Buffalo 42 2 13,167 318.98 4.76%
Burnett 22 1 15,258 144.19 4.55%
Calumet 288 2 49,807 578.23 0.69%
Chippewa 218 0 63,635 342.58 0.00%
Clark 180 7 34,491 521.88 3.89%
Columbia 238 1 56,954 417.88 0.42%
Crawford 70 0 16,288 429.76 0.00%
Dane 4,376 37 529,843 825.91 0.85%
Dodge 757 5 87,776 862.42 0.66%
Door 101 3 27,439 368.09 2.97%
Douglas 149 0 43,402 343.30 0.00%
Dunn 112 0 44,498 251.70 0.00%
Eau Claire 541 4 102,991 525.29 0.74%
Florence 6 0 4,337 138.34 0.00%
Fond du Lac 598 6 102,315 584.47 1.00%
Forest 59 4 9,018 654.25 6.78%
Grant 341 14 51,828 657.95 4.11%
Green 137 1 36,864 371.64 0.73%
Green Lake 54 0 18,757 287.89 0.00%
Iowa 70 0 23,620 296.36 0.00%
Iron 73 1 5,715 1,277.34 1.37%
Jackson 52 1 20,506 253.58 1.92%
Jefferson 596 5 84,652 704.06 0.84%
Juneau 135 1 26,419 511.00 0.74%
Kenosha 2,597 58 168,330 1,542.80 2.23%
Kewaunee 122 2 20,360 599.21 1.64%
La Crosse 881 1 117,850 747.56 0.11%
Lafayette 116 0 16,735 693.16 0.00%
Langlade 57 1 19,164 297.43 1.75%
Lincoln 65 0 27,848 233.41 0.00%
Manitowoc 321 1 79,407 404.25 0.31%
Marathon 612 8 135,264 452.45 1.31%
Marinette 356 3 40,537 878.21 0.84%
Marquette 76 1 15,207 499.77 1.32%
Menominee 20 0 4,579 436.78 0.00%
Milwaukee 20,389 452 954,209 2,136.74 2.22%
Monroe 241 2 45,502 529.65 0.83%
Oconto 207 0 37,556 551.18 0.00%
Oneida 102 0 35,345 288.58 0.00%
Outagamie 1,180 14 184,754 638.69 1.19%
Ozaukee 624 17 88,284 706.81 2.72%
Pepin 42 0 7,262 578.35 0.00%
Pierce 197 0 41,603 473.52 0.00%
Polk 126 2 43,349 290.66 1.59%
Portage 377 0 70,599 534.00 0.00%
Price 26 0 13,490 192.74 0.00%
Racine 3,364 78 195,398 1,721.61 2.32%
Richland 34 4 17,539 193.85 11.76%
Rock 1,395 26 161,769 862.34 1.86%
Rusk 17 1 14,183 119.86 5.88%
Sauk 423 3 63,596 665.14 0.71%
Sawyer 52 0 16,370 317.65 0.00%
Shawano 173 0 41,009 421.86 0.00%
Sheboygan 720 9 115,205 624.97 1.25%
St. Croix 476 4 87,917 541.42 0.84%
Taylor 61 0 20,356 299.67 0.00%
Trempealeau 329 2 29,438 1,117.60 0.61%
Vernon 59 0 30,516 193.34 0.00%
Vilas 45 0 21,593 208.40 0.00%
Walworth 1,284 22 103,013 1,246.44 1.71%
Washburn 41 0 15,689 261.33 0.00%
Washington 967 22 134,535 718.77 2.28%
Waukesha 3,930 57 398,879 985.26 1.45%
Waupaca 417 15 51,444 810.59 3.60%
Waushara 112 0 24,116 464.42 0.00%
Winnebago 1,111 18 169,926 653.81 1.62%
Wood 268 1 73,274 365.75 0.37%

As of 6 August 2020[52]
Data is publicly reported by Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Racial disparities

ProPublica conducted an analysis[53] of the racial composition of COVID-19 cases in Milwaukee County dating through the morning of April 3, 2020. They noted that African Americans comprised nearly half of the county's cases and 22 of the county's 27 deaths.[53] Both the county[54] and city of Milwaukee[55] passed resolutions in May and June 2019, respectively, declaring racial inequality to be a public health crisis.

Impact on politics and elections

The 2020 Democratic National Convention was originally scheduled for July 13–16 in Milwaukee at the Fiserv Forum arena, was but postponed to August 17–20 on April 2.[56][57]

In Wisconsin, the April 7 election for a state Supreme Court seat, the federal presidential primaries for both the Democratic and Republican parties, and several other judicial and local elections went ahead as scheduled.

Due to the pandemic, at least fifteen other U.S. states canceled or postponed scheduled elections or primaries at the time of Wisconsin's election.[58] With Wisconsin grappling with their own pandemic, state Democratic lawmakers made several attempts to postpone their election, but were prevented by other Republican legislators. Governor Tony Evers called the Wisconsin legislature into a special session on April 4, but the Republican-controlled Assembly and Senate gaveled their sessions in and out within seventeen seconds.[59] In a joint statement afterward, Wisconsin's state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald criticized Evers for attempting to postpone the election, for not calling a special session earlier, and for reversing his previous position on keeping the election date intact.[60]

On April 6, Evers attempted to move the election by an executive order, but was blocked by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. On the same day, a separate effort to extend the deadline for mailing absentee ballots was blocked by the Supreme Court of the United States in a 5–4 vote. In her dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg warned that the ruling "will result in massive disenfranchisement."[61] The only major concession achieved was that absentee ballots postmarked by April 7 at 8 p.m. would be accepted until April 13.[62] However, local media outlets reported that many voters had not received their requested absentee ballots by election day or, due to social distancing, were unable to satisfy a legal requirement that they obtain a witness's signature.[63][64]

Lawmakers' decision to not delay the election was sharply criticized by the editorial board of the local Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, which had previously endorsed the Republican former governor Scott Walker.[65] They called the election "the most undemocratic in the state's history."[66] The New York Times characterized the election as "almost certain to be tarred as illegitimate," adding that the inability of the state's lawmakers to come to an agreement on moving the election was "an epic and predictable failure." The newspaper placed the political maneuvering as part of another chapter in "a decade of bitter partisan wrangling that saw [state Republicans] clinically attack and defang the state's Democratic institutions, starting with organized labor and continuing with voting laws making it far harder for poor and black residents of urban areas to vote."[67] Republicans believed that holding the election on April 7, when Democratic-leaning urban areas were hard-hit by the pandemic, would help secure them political advantages like a continued 5–2 conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court (through the elected seat of Daniel Kelly).[65][68]

When the election went ahead on April 7, access to easy in-person voting heavily depended on the area. In smaller or more rural communities, few issues were reported.[68][69] In more urbanized areas, the pandemic forced the closure and consolidation of many polling places around the state despite the use of 2,500 National Guard members to combat a severe shortage in poll workers.[70][71] The effects were felt most heavily in Milwaukee, the state's largest city with the largest minority population and the center of the state's ongoing pandemic.[68] The city's government was only able to open 5 of 180 polling stations after being short by nearly 1,000 poll workers.[71] As a result, lengthy lines were reported, with some voters waiting for up to 2.5 hours and through rain showers.[70][72] The lines disproportionately affected Milwaukee's large Hispanic and African-American population; the latter had already been disproportionately afflicted with the coronavirus pandemic, forming nearly half of Wisconsin's documented cases and over half its deaths at the time the vote was conducted.[67][69] However, by the time the election concluded, Milwaukee Election Commissioner Neil Albrecht stated that despite some of the problems, the in-person voting ran smoothly.[73]

Similar problems with poll station closures and long lines were reported in Waukesha, where only one polling station was opened for a city of 70,000, and Green Bay, where only 17 poll workers out of 270 were able to work.[67] Other cities were able to keep lines much shorter, including the state capital of Madison, which opened about two-thirds of its usual polling locations, and Appleton, which opened all of its usual 15.[70][74]

Voters across the state were advised to maintain social distancing, wear face masks, and bring their own pens.[75] Robin Vos, the state Assembly Speaker, served as an election inspector for in-person voting on April 7. While wearing medical-like personal protective equipment, he told reporters that it was "incredibly safe to go out" and vote, adding that voters faced "minimal exposure."[68][76]

By mid-April, health officials in Milwaukee identified at least seven new cases of COVID-19 that appear to be linked to the April 7 election; Six voters and one poll worker. Advocates of vote-by-mail say Wisconsin's experience should be a warning to other states, saying this cou ld be "the tip of the iceberg."[77][78][79]

Impact on sports

Most of state's sports teams were affected. Several leagues began postponing or suspending their seasons starting March 12. Major League Baseball cancelled the remainder of spring training on that date, and on March 16, they announced that the season will be postponed indefinitely, after the recommendations from the CDC to restrict events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks, affecting the Milwaukee Brewers.[80] Also on March 12, the National Basketball Association announced the season would be suspended for 30 days, affecting the Milwaukee Bucks.[81]

In college sports, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) canceled all winter and spring tournaments, most notably the Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments, affecting colleges and universities statewide.[82] On March 16, the National Junior College Athletic Association also canceled the remainder of the winter seasons as well as the spring seasons.[83] On August 5, the NCAA cancelled all Division II and Division III fall championships, impacting a number of universities statewide.[84] On August 11, the Big Ten Conference postponed all fall sports, affecting the Wisconsin Badgers.[85]

See also

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