A prescription for a healthier Wisconsin
Four months ago, few of us had heard of COVID-19. Three months ago, on Jan. 29, the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health hosted an expert panel on this emerging threat. A few days later, a person in Dane County was diagnosed with COVID-19 — Wisconsin’s first case.
By mid-March, we had 100 identified cases in Wisconsin, the first deaths had occurred, and schools were closed. One week later, the “Safer at Home” executive order was issued.
As of Thursday afternoon, Wisconsin had seen more than 9,200 cases and 374 deaths due to COVID-19.
Despite this horrible toll, Wisconsin has fared relatively well compared with other areas in the country. Early implementation of social distancing and other public health interventions have resulted in fewer people becoming ill from
COVID-19 and many fewer deaths than anticipated, at least for now.
The dramatic shift in our collective behaviors has required great sacrifice. Our lives have changed, financial distress has devastated families and businesses, and the acute and cumulative stresses grow in intensity each day.
We now need to focus on the best steps for pushing ahead, in line with our state motto “Forward.”
With strong conviction and an emphasis on evidence rather than emotion, we will get through this pandemic — if we are united by a shared vision.
Debates, at times divisive and disruptive, have focused on whether we should emphasize the health of our people or the health of our economy. We must move away from this “either/or” view and accept the “and,” recognizing that economic viability and the health of people and populations are intertwined.
We believe these key metrics should guide our return to a healthy Wisconsin:
Testing: access to COVID-19 testing for everyone, regardless of symptoms;
Tracing: the ability to identify contacts of those testing positive for COVID-19;
Strategic Isolation: having the resources to safely isolate those testing positive and their contacts for appropriate periods of time;
Tracking: locating where COVID-19 is spreading;
Protecting: assuring that appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) is available for everyone, based on their situation and needs;
Resourcing: having adequate health care system capacity for all;
Monitoring: providing oversight and accountability for evidence-based, step-wise progression of expanded activities in businesses, public facilities and institutions;
Responsibility: moving ahead with opening business and social activity that involves face-to-face interaction when appropriate, based on objective data rather than emotions or political pressures.
Our recovery from COVID-19 will not follow a straight line. There will be inevitable flare-ups of new infections, at least until we have a safe and effective vaccine that is available for everyone. But by having the proper systems and resources in place, we can avoid having each flare-up turn into a raging, destructive forest fire that takes the lives of Wisconsinites.
Badgers are strong, resourceful and determined. These characteristics, guided by thoughtful metrics, will lead our state forward into a healthy postCOVID era.
Jonathan L. Temte is associate dean for public health and community engagement at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Robert N. Golden is dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and vice chancellor for medical affairs at UW-Madison.