Hundreds show at 2 sites for free coronavirus tests
Small stores allowed to open with restrictions
All Wisconsin retail stores are now allowed to let shoppers back inside, as long as customers are limited to five at a time and social-distancing guidelines are followed, Gov. Tony Evers announced Monday.
The move came as Wisconsin ramps up testing efforts, with hundreds of people getting tested at two new Milwaukee sites staffed by the Wisconsin National Guard.
Also on Monday, the state’s total number of newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus dropped below 200 for the first time this month.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm signed the order Monday that allows customers to enter stand-alone and strip-mall-based retail stores. The order also permits drive-in theaters to operate with some restrictions.
The new order for nonessential retail stores went into effect immediately. Essential retail businesses, including grocery and hardware stores, will continue to operate with reduced capacity.
The new order is “focused on small retailers,” Evers said during a Monday call with reporters. He added that he doesn’t expect larger stores like Menomonee Falls-based Kohl’s Corp. to open for just five customers, as the idea is to start small and monitor the transmission of the virus, Evers said.
“The retail stores that we’re talking about are a smidgen of the size of Walmart,” he said. Main street retailers that have been closed for weeks to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus are the ones the governor expects to see open.
“We think that they are deserving and have less risk than other stores and that’s why we chose them,” he said.
Face coverings are strongly encouraged for all staff and customers, and social distancing requirements must be observed. Retail stores that operate under the new guidelines are required to establish lines outside to regulate entry, with markings to show where customers should stand.
Hundreds more tested
As of Monday afternoon, close to 800 people have already been tested for the coronavirus at Milwaukee’s two new testing sites, Mayor Tom Barrett said at news briefing Monday.
The testing sites are staffed by members of the Wisconsin National Guard and will continue to be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day at UMOS, 2701 S. Chase Ave., and Midtown Center, 5700 W. Capitol Drive.
“We’ve been incredibly pleased with the turnout at these locations today,” Barrett said.
Testing is free and available to everyone, including those without symptoms, though officials urged anyone with symptoms such as dry cough and fever to get tested.
“The goal is to have a lot more of a baseline ... in terms of how deeply this virus has infected our community,” Barrett said.
Anyone who tests positive will be contacted by a local health official for contact tracing to determine the infected person’s movements and who they’ve been in contact with.
They no longer will be asked about their activities related to the April 7 election — state health officials now consider 71 to be the final total of Wisconsinites who tested positive for COVID-19 after voting in-person or working the polls.
A state health department spokeswoman noted that many people had other possible exposures, leaving it unclear if voting directly led to the infections.
There is no end date scheduled for Milwaukee’s two test sites.
“We are prepared to stay on-site in Milwaukee to administer testing as long as there’s a demand for it,” National Guard Capt. Joe Trovato said.
In addition, there remain 17 federally qualified health centers doing testing, which “welcome anyone with symptoms, regardless of income, insurance or immigration status,” said Ben Weston, medical services director for Milwaukee County’s Office of Emergency Management.
People can connect with their nearest site by calling 211 and entering their ZIP code to get a scheduled appointment, Weston said.
It’s unclear whether the latest testing effort will lead to a surge in newly confirmed cases, which on Monday dropped to fewer than 200 for the first time since April 27.
Daily updates of positive tests had averaged 336 in May before Monday, when state health officials announced 199 positives among nearly 3,100 tests. Total deaths in Wisconsin due to COVID-19 increased by nine, to 409.
Following Mother’s Day weekend, the number of test results released was the lowest in a week, but even so, there was some encouraging news. Just 6.5% of results were positive, the secondlowest number since the state changed its reporting on March 30 to exclude repeated tests of the same patients.
A sustained decline in that percentpositive number over the past two weeks means Wisconsin now meets another criteria set by Evers to begin a phased reopening of public spaces.
The stay-at-home order is set to expire May 26.
DNC taking steps toward making parts of Milwaukee convention virtual
The 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee has already been pushed back from mid-July to the week of Aug. 17 — and now national party leaders are being asked to allow organizers to change the event as needed to ensure the safety of participants.
Under a proposal that will be debated Tuesday by the Democratic National Committee’s Rules & Bylaws Committee, the team overseeing the convention in Milwaukee would have maximum flexibility — including the authority to change the format, size and dates.
The resolution will give organizers options as they try to prepare for an event that was originally supposed to draw 50,000 people to Milwaukee.
The rules don’t guarantee a so-called virtual convention but could bring in virtual elements, allowing delegates to attend remotely.
The resolution must be approved by a majority of members of the Rules & Bylaws Committee. It will then be voted on by mail by the roughly 447 members of the full DNC.