COVID-19 cases soar; Wisconsin fights back
Family of man who died pleads for disease to be taken seriously
The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Wisconsin deepened and widened Saturday, with nearly 300 confirmed cases, four deaths, and daily life coming to a virtual standstill.
Among the 281 people who tested positive as of Saturday afternoon, nearly half live in Milwaukee County. There are 49 confirmed cases of the virus in Dane County and 20 cases in Waukesha County.
Two people in Milwaukee County have died after contracting the virus, while one death has been reported in Ozaukee County and another in Fond du Lac County.
Saturday evening, all long-term care centers in Washington and Ozaukee counties were ordered to lock down after one center in Grafton had its own outbreak. The Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department issued the order, stipulating that visitor access to such facilities would be restricted, save for certain scenarios such as an end-of-life situation.
On Thursday, a 91-year-old man died at Village Pointe Commons in Grafton. Following his death, a coroner administered the coronavirus test and it came back positive. At least three residents and one caregiver at Village Pointe have tested positive since then.
Village Pointe Commons is now being partially staffed with a medical unit from the Wisconsin National Guard, according to Bailey Murph, a spokesperson for the health department.
Rallying to provide help for caregivers
Amid all the grim news, public service organizations, businesses, labor unions and the government are rallying to curb the spread of the virus and assist those in need.
Saturday, the YMCA of Greater Milwaukee said it was launching a partnership with the Milwaukee Health Department, local health care providers and others to provide child-care services for emergency responders and essential medical personnel. Details of the program, which if successful could be replicated statewide, are expected to be announced Monday.
A YMCA spokesman said a pilot center would be set up at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center at 2900 W. Oklahoma Ave. in Milwaukee, and other area sites are in the works. He said the groups are coordinating with state officials to ensure they comply with restrictions imposed last week that limit child care centers to 10 adults and 50 children.
Other partners include Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin, Rogers Behavioral Health and Milwaukee city and county emergency agencies.
Nationwide, there were at least 278 deaths and more than 20,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of late Saturday. Globally, the total number of cases surpassed 303,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard.
Italy, which is enduring the worst nightmare at this point, reported 793 coronavirus-related deaths and 6,557 new cases, the highest daily count yet in the nation’s health crisis. The country’s total number of deaths is fast approaching 5,000.
Worldwide, the death toll approached 13,000.
Washington, D.C., is ‘a ghost town’
In Washington, D.C., with the U.S. House of Representatives in recess, it’s the Senate that is experiencing the new realities of congressional life.
Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin said she is now working from her apartment, since neither she nor her staff are in their Senate work spaces.
“I am sheltering in place,” Baldwin said.
“We’re all tele-working now, so my life is a series of conference calls,” she said. That includes the first-ever phonein caucuses of Senate Democrats, which she described as “quite orderly.”
Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson did work from his Senate office, in the company of only his chief of staff, since his aides are also working from home. Johnson described the Capitol as a “ghost town.”
With both parties trying to hammer out a massive stimulus package, senators are convening over the weekend in the hopes of passing legislation early this coming week.
Small businesses in Wisconsin affected by the coronavirus pandemic will have access to low-interest federal disaster loans, Gov. Tony Evers’ office announced Saturday.
Evers’ office said the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved his administration’s request to make the loans available in Wisconsin. But processing of the loans could be delayed because of the likely deluge of requests.
Under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, businesses and nonprofits may qualify for up to $2 million in loans to cover losses resulting from the pandemic, according to the state. The interest rates are 3.75% for businesses and 2.75% for nonprofits, and payments can be extended to 30 years.
Applicants can get started at www.sba.gov/disaster. The Wisconsin Small Business Development Network and its partners also are helping small businesses apply for federal disaster loans. It has created a web page, and consultants are available by phone and online to help navigate the process.
Republican leaders of the state Legislature are asking Evers not to place any further restrictions on Wisconsin residents’ ability to spend money, warning of an economic collapse.
Evers has ordered the closure of schools, bars, restaurants and hair salons, and has limited gatherings to 10 people or fewer to lessen the chance that the coronavirus spreads like wildfire throughout the state, endangering thousands of lives.
Other states, including Illinois and California, have gone further by ordering all of their residents to stay in their homes — a measure Evers has said, for now, he isn’t taking.
Senate leaders Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau and Roger Roth of Appleton and Assembly leaders Robin Vos of Rochester and Jim Steineke of Kaukauna said Saturday they agree so far with the governor’s position, and that more restrictions are unnecessary.
12 times the number of jobless claims
The effect of the coronavirus outbreak on businesses is perhaps most seen in the effect on the state’s workforce. Nearly 63,000 Wisconsinites filed unemployment claims this past week, according to preliminary figures by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
That’s 12 times the number of claims the state received during the same time period in 2019, when 5,190 claims were filed.
About 15,000 claims have been filed every day since Wednesday, according to the data.
One of the largest Wisconsin manufacturing plant layoffs from coronavirus is scheduled to take place Sunday, involving 1,043 workers at Sub-Zero and Wolf plants in Fitchburg. Most of the employees are expected to be called back to work in mid-April, according to a statement by Sub-Zero, a manufacturer of kitchen appliances under the SubZero and Wolf brands. Some employees likely won’t be recalled, it acknowledged.
In a move aimed at helping bartenders and others, Molson Coors Beverage Co. announced it will pledge $1 million to United States Bartenders’ Guild, a nonprofit that supports bartenders and other service industry professionals. The Miller Lite brand is also encouraging members of the public to offer their support by contributing to the USBG National Charity Foundation’s Bartender Emergency Assistance Program, a relief campaign that aids bartenders and other service professionals.
Fond du Lac family’s personal appeal
All of that news pales in comparison to the pain endured by families who have lost a loved one.
In Fond du Lac, the family of a 55year-old man who died from coronavirus has asked that people still in denial about their vulnerability to the virus begin to take it seriously.
Dale Joseph Witkowski contracted the virus while in Egypt with one of his sisters. He celebrated his 55th birthday there Feb. 25, and died Thursday at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac.
“We ask you to be serious about COVID-19. Please do not panic, rather, educate yourself and your family. Please do not blame or shun, rather be supportive and compassionate, especially with the people who have tested positive for this virus,” his family wrote in an online obituary.
“We responded too slowly as a country and now we are seeing devastating effects in our country, state and community, and for us, our family. Knowledge and mindful, safe practices are what is needed now,” they added.