Gov. Evers to extend public health emergency, mask mandate

MILWAUKEE – Governor Tony Evers on Friday, January 15, announced that he plans to declare another public health emergency, extending the mask’s mandate across the state.

The existing public health emergency was set to expire the following week. The governor’s plan would extend the mandate for another 60 days.

“We will once again be establishing another public health emergency by maintaining the mask requirement across the state for another 60 days,” said Governor Evers.

The governor said he would not stop critical mitigation efforts. On Monday, the state will take the first steps towards Phase 1B of the vaccination program, allowing the SME, firefighters and security forces to roll up their sleeves.

Next week there will also be the deployment of mobile vaccination teams.

“Our mobile teams will work to support these local and tribal health departments and their vaccination efforts,” said Governor Evers.

A day after House Republicans questioned the Evers administration about the slow pace of vaccine implantation, health officials say the figures are misleading.

“We are seeing a much greater delay from our Wisconsin State Immunization Registry to the federal CDC system that they are reporting publicly,” said Jullie Willems Van Dijk, undersecretary for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS).

To date, the state has administered 213,056 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with about 31,000 people receiving the second dose. Health officials say they would need three times as many doses from the federal government to meet their targets by June.

COVID-19 test at American Family Field

Although the Christmas and New Year holidays saw a slight increase in COVID-19 cases in January, it is nothing compared to the increase seen in November. However, doctors warn not to be fooled into thinking that the pandemic has passed.

“We have unacceptably high levels of disease in all areas of the state – and this in the context of the epidemic that is worse than ever across the country,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, medical director of the DHS Department of Communicable Diseases. “The number of cases and deaths across the country is at its highest.”

DHS will also launch a new COVID-19 weekly newsletter. The aim is to ensure that everyone is aware of the different stages of vaccine distribution and to provide context for the latest pandemic statistics.

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