Wisconsin sees its first two coronavirus deaths
Unemployment spikes; economy limps along
The state’s first deaths from coronavirus, a jump in the number of confirmed cases and a skyrocketing volume of new unemployment claims confirmed Thursday how deeply the highly contagious disease is affecting the health and economic well-being of Wisconsin.
Two people — a man in his 50s from Fond du Lac County and a man in his 90s from Ozaukee County — died from COVID-19, Gov. Tony Evers said Thursday.
“Our hearts go out to all the loved ones affected by these deaths and to all those suffering from this virus,” Evers said in a news release.
Confirmed coronavirus cases in Wisconsin have surged to 155 across 21 counties, according to an update from the state Department of Health Services Thursday. The cases spanned the state, from Milwaukee to Bayfield and Pierce to Outagamie counties. So far, nearly 2,200 Wisconsinites have tested negative.
Daily life has slowed to a crawl — traffic is all but non-existent in many locations, stores are open fewer hours or closed, schools are pivoting as best they can to online classwork, and employers are continuing to keep employees working from home, or not working at all.
On Thursday, Menomonee Fallsbased Kohl’s joined other retailers that have temporarily closed, saying it would shut down all its stores until the situation is safer.
Nearly 30,000 new unemployment claims have been filed in Wisconsin so far this week — nearly six times the amount made last week in the state, according to preliminary data released from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The number likely will balloon even more as more people lose work at bars, restaurants and other businesses, and as employers trying to keep workers on the payroll temporarily give in.
Savannah Bierma, of Milwaukee, is among those filing for unemployment this week. She and her boyfriend work in the entertainment industry for hourly pay.
“My household at the moment is making zero income and we don’t know where that will be coming from,” she told the Journal Sentinel.
Coronavirus also is taking a toll on health care workers serving on the front lines of the pandemic. The Journal Sentinel has heard from nearly a dozen health care workers from hospitals in Milwaukee and Madison who report they have no protective masks or that they have been required to wear a single mask all day.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said nurses and other health providers may need to use
homemade masks from scarves and bandannas as a “last resort” if the supply of FDA-cleared masks run out.
The pandemic has killed close to 10,000 people across the globe. On Thursday, Italy marked a grim milestone as the number of deaths there — 3,405 — surpassed those in China, while the U.S. State Department told Americans not to travel abroad at all in its strongest advisory yet.
‘There is a lot of anxiety around’
No place is immune from the disease. At Waupun Correctional Institution, 18 inmates have been quarantined and 11 medical workers have been sent home after a doctor was tested positive.
A Milwaukee County Election Commission worker has tested positive for coronavirus.
So has a Shorewood School Board member, who took to YouTube to share his diagnosis and encourage others to stay home to stop the virus’ spread.
“There’s a lot of anxiety around,” said Pablo Muirhead, who said he does not know how he contracted the virus.
“We need to come together and be very united, much like we were as a community after 9/11,” he said. “That’s what’s helping me, remaining positive.”
As of Thursday, Milwaukee County had 64 confirmed cases, including 41 in the city of Milwaukee.
Milwaukee officials urged residents to continue practicing social distancing, with a statewide order that bans gatherings of 10 people or more.
“Stay calm and stay at home,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said.
Meanwhile at the state level, about 300 Wisconsin National Guard soldiers have been mobilized for the coronavirus outbreak.
Some will help transporting more Wisconsinites returning from California after quarantining from a cruise, while others are medics who could help with test kit collection.
Ruling expected on absentee voting
If anyone thought all this might prompt people to put politics aside, they were wrong.
A federal judge has signaled he will issue a quick ruling on whether to extend absentee voting during the coronavirus outbreak as Wisconsin Republicans sought to stop the effort.
“I feel as though I’m going to need to act one way or the other under fairly strict timelines,” U.S. District Judge William Conley said Thursday during an hour-long telephone hearing.
He gave attorneys for the state Elections Commission and Republican-led Legislature until Friday to file briefs on whether he should change rules for the April 7 presidential primary because of the pandemic spanning the globe.
A day earlier, the Democratic National Committee and the state Democratic Party had filed suit asking the court to allow absentee ballots to be counted if they arrive after Election Day, allow people to vote absentee without providing a photo ID, and give people more time to use an online portal to register to vote.
Under the law, voters have until April 2 to request absentee ballots online at myvote.wi.gov. As of Thursday, about 315,000 people had requested absentee ballots. That’s more than all the absentee ballots cast in the 2016 presidential primary.
Big Gig still a go, for now
Finally, one good note — at least for the time being.
Although a string of concerts, events, parades and festivals have been postponed or canceled, the world’s largest music festival is still on track for its 11day run.
“Right now, we’re full steam ahead until we’re not. We’re monitoring this hour by hour, day by day,” Don Smiley, CEO of Summerfest’s parent company, Milwaukee World Festival Inc., said during a Thursday teleconference board meeting.
But just in case, officials are weighing the potential economic fallout from attendance figures cut in half or an outright cancellation.
“We’ve looked into the implications of what this might mean if this goes longer than what people think,” Smiley said.
Journal Sentinel reporters Patrick Marley, Molly Beck, Gina Barton, Mary Spicuzza, John Diedrich, Sarah Hauer, Bill Glauber, Piet Levy, Meg Jones, Raquel Rutledge, Mark Johnson and Jeff Rumage contributed to this report as well as Madeline Heim of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
Contact Ashley Luthern atashley.luthern@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @aluthern.