Evers administration briefs lawmakers on local outbreak resources.
Health officials touch on funding, current low risk, preparations
MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers could use public money to help health officials around the state respond to an outbreak of a new virus that has killed thousands in China, state health officials said Wednesday.
No one in Wisconsin is sick with the new coronavirus — the state’s one case has recovered — but if an outbreak makes its way to Wisconsin, Evers could declare a public health emergency that would allow him to distribute money, Department of Health Services officials told lawmakers and their staff at a briefing in the state Capitol.
Just nine lawmakers out of 132 attended the briefing convened by Evers as the number of virus-related deaths in the U.S. rises to 11, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who was the only legislative leader there.
DHS officials, including Secretary Andrea Palm, stressed the risk to the public is currently low, but discussions are underway with state officials overseeing prisons, nursing homes, schools and tourism to ensure proper policies are in place in the event of an outbreak here.
“Because it’s new there is so much we don’t know ... it is why we all feel a little bit of anxiety about this,” Palm said. “That is natural when you’re dealing with a new disease.”
The meeting was called for by Evers as an outbreak that has killed thousands in China spreads to the U.S, raising fears among the public. DHS officials were on hand to answer questions lawmakers have about how the state is monitoring the spread of the new virus and whether sufficient plans are in place now to respond in the event of a large-scale outbreak.
Vos, who said he rearranged his schedule to attend, said he was surprised more didn’t take the meeting seriously.
“It was surprising to me today that I was the only constitutional officer that came today,” Vos said after the briefing. The state constitution does not provide for the position of Assembly Speaker, however.
“It goes to show that we want to ensure the department does their job and give them the resources and the time that they need to do it and we do it in a way that does not give undue worry to the public where all of a sudden they believe something more serious is occurring than actually is,” he said.
Staff from Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, Senate President Roger Roth and Assembly Minority
Leader Gordon Hintz, and staff working for other lawmakers also attended the meeting.
A spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling said Shilling has spoken to DHS officials directly about such issues.
Ryan Westergaard, the department’s bureau of communicable disease chief medical officer, said at the briefing state funds could be distributed to help county and city health officials, or to medical facilities, if cases in Wisconsin rise.
Evers also said at a morning news conference in Suamico that the funds would be delivered by the federal government.
DHS spokeswoman Jennifer Miller said the department could receive the funding during a public health emergency through federal legislation or by tapping into existing state funds.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Madison, said Wednesday the state could be eligible for up to $10 million in federal funds if an emergency spending bill set to pass the House Wednesday is signed into law by President Donald Trump.
Baldwin said the funding would come in the form of additional grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and provide the state with the ability to apply for more funding.
The potential funding would come in addition to $1 million that was provided by the CDC Wednesday to Wisconsin and other states that have had actives cases, Baldwin said.
“In order to effectively combat the novel coronavirus, we must make sure state and local officials have the resources they need to address this public health crisis,” Baldwin said in a statement.