CORONAVIRUS UPDATE.
>> DISMANTLING SYSTEMIC RACISM
THAT IS AT THE CORE OF THIS
DIVISION AND PAIN AND ALL THE
WHILE, KIDS ARE GOING BACK TO
SCHOOL.
FAMILIES ARE NAVIGATING
DIFFICULT HOUSEHOLD DECISIONS.
AND A GLOBAL PANDEMIC RAGES IN
OUR COMMUNITIES.
IT HAS BEEN TOUGH AND
WISCONSINITES ARE HURTING.
THAT IS A GROSS UNDERSTATEMENT.
MUCH WORK IS TO BE DONE.
I WANT TO STRESS THAT OUR
STRENGTH IS IN OUR COMMUNITIES
AND IN EACH OTHER.
IN ORDER TO MOVE OUR STATE
FORWARD, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO
DO THIS TOGETHER AND APPLY IT TO
THE LARGER CONVERSATION OF
JUSTICE AND EQUITY, AND ALSO TO
THE FUTURE OF THE COVID-19
PANDEMIC.
FULL, THIS PANDEMIC HAS NOT GONE
AWAY.
ON AUGUST 1, OUR STATE FACED --
FACE COVERING REQUIREMENT WENT
INTO EFFECT ALONG WITH THE
SECOND DECLARED STATE HEALTH
EMERGENCY.
I WANT TO THANKS ALL
WISCONSINITES THAT HAVE STEPPED
UP TO THE PLATE TO PROTECT
FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITIES
BY WEARING A MASK WHEN IN
PUBLIC.
I KNOW THIS DECISION WAS A BIT
OF A GAMBLE.
FROM "SAFER AT HME,"
REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN LOOKING TO
TAKE SUITS TO COURT.
ONE WAS FILED IN RESPONSE TO THE
LATEST DECLARATION AND THE
STATEWIDE FACE COVERING
REQUIREMENT.
FOLKS, PUBLIC HEALTH SHOULD NOT
BE A PARTISAN ISSUE.
SCIENCE SHOULD NOT BE A PARTISAN
ISSUE.
THE COUNTY BY COUNTY PIECEMEAL
APPROACH TO THE PANDEMIC WASN’T
WORKING.
NUMBERS CONTINUE TO RISE.
FAMILIES CONTINUE TO YOU LOSE
LOVED ONES.
WE HAVE POSITIVE CASES DAY AFTER
DAY.
WE TRIED IT THEIR WAY, DIDN’T
WORK.
AS I SAID BEFORE, THE ONLY WAY
TO GET THROUGH THESE CHALLENGES
IS BY COMING TOGETHER TO WORK
TOGETHER, REGARDLESS OF ANY
LAWSUITS, WE ARE GOING TO
CONTINUE TO KEEP WISCONSINITES
HEALTHY AND SAFE.
WE ALL WANT TO GO BACK TO NORMAL
.
THAT IS OUR ONE WAY WE CAN KEEP
EACH OTHER SAFE AND STOP THE
SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS.
THERE ARE MANY FACTORS TO
CONSIDER.
WE KNOW THAT WEARING MASKS WILL
SAVE LIVES.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO WEAR YOUR
MASK.
AVOID GATHERINGS OF PEOPLE
OUTSIDE OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD.
STAY HOME AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
WASH YOUR HANDS FREQUENTLY.
IT IS THESE COMMUNITY EFFORTS
THAT WORK BEST.
THEY WORK BEST WHEN WE ARE ALL
ON BOARD.
IT WILL GET US BACK TO THE
ACTIVITIES WE ALL ENJOY AND
ALLOW THE ECONOMY TO BOUNCE
BACK.
COVID-19 HAS HAD A HUGE IMPACT
ON OUR ARTS AND CULTURAL
INSTITUTIONS.
LIVE MUSIC, DANCE, THEATER,
LITERATURE, OR ITEMS OF
ENVIRONMENTAL OR SCIENTIFIC
INTEREST, THESE ORGANIZATIONS
ALSO PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN
LOCAL AND STATEWIDE ECONOMIES,
INCLUDING SIGNIFICANT TOURISM
ACTIVITY.
IT WILL BE CRITICAL TO OUR
STATE’S FINANCIAL RECOVERY.
THAT IS WHY TODAY WE ANNOUNCED
$5 MILLION OF CARES FUNDING WILL
BE AVAILABLE TO THESE
ORGANIZATIONS TO COVER
PANDEMIC-RELATED IMPACTS, LIKE
LOST REVENUE, INCREASE WORKER
COMPENSATION COST, AND
SANITIZING.
OUR NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURAL
ORGANIZATIONS ARE A GREAT SOURCE
OF PRIDE AND EXPRESSION FOR ALL
WISCONSINITES, AND CAN PRINT NO
-- PROMOTE HEALING.
I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THOSE
FUNDS SUPPORT THESE
ORGANIZATIONS TO BENEFIT
COMMUNITIES.
I WOULD LIKE TO NOW PASS THINGS
OVER TO SECRETARY DESIGNATE
ANDREA PALM FOR UPDATES.
MS. PALM: THANKS, GOVERNOR.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED
LEADERSHIP THIS YEAR DURING
THESE CHALLENGING TIMES.
BECAUSE WE ARE COMMITTED TO
BEING TRANSPARENT, WE HAVE A NEW
UPDATE TO THE DATA PORTION OF
OUR WEBSITE.
WE WANT THE DATA TO BE
ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC, NOT
JUST PRESENT ON THE WEBSITE, BUT
ALSO EASY TO UNDERSTAND.
THAT IS WHY TOMORROW, WE WILL
ADD A NEW DATA VISUALIZATION
THAT BREAKS DOWN CONFIRMED CASES
OF COVID-19 BY AGE GROUP.
WHILE THIS DATA IS ALREADY
PUBLISHED ON OUR WEBSITE, IT IS
THIS NEW VISUALIZATION THAT WILL
MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU TO
MONITOR TRENDS IN CASES ACROSS
AGE GROUPS IN WISCONSIN.
WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEING IN
THIS REGARD IS THAT THE HIGHEST
NUMBER OF CONFIRMED CASES ARE IN
THE 18-34-YEAR-OLD AGE GROUP,
BOTH CUMULATIVE CASES AND A
MEASURE OF NEW CASES BY WEEK.
HERE IS WHERE WE STAND OR
BROADLY WITH OUR DATA.
WE HAVE 727 NEW CONFIRMED CASES
OF COVID-19 TODAY.
IT BRINGS OUR TOTAL TO 77,856.
HOUR SEVEN DAY AVERAGE OF NEW
CONFIRMED CASES IS 674, COMPARED
TO 930 IN LATE JULY.
OUR TOTAL DEATHS HAVE REACHED
1146 WISCONSINITES.
IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE ALL
WORK TOGETHER TO BOX IN THE
VIRUS.
TO DO THAT, WE NEED TO CONTINUE
TO BUILD OUR TESTING AND TRACING
CAPACITY, MAKING SURE EVERYONE
WHO NEEDS A TEST CAN GET ONE.
WHEN WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT
INCREASING ACCESS TO TESTING IN
THE PAST, IT HAS OFTEN BEEN IN
THE CONTEXT OF INCREASING LAB
CAPACITY.
TODAY HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE TO
TALK ABOUT INCREASING ACCESS BY
REDUCING BARRIERS.
COVID CONNECT IS OUR TEST
REGISTRATION WEBSITE THAT WE
HAVE DEPLOYED AT OUR COMMUNITY
TESTING SITES AROUND THE STATE
AND AS OF THIS WEEK, IT IS ALSO
NOW AVAILABLE IN SPANISH.
SOON, IT WILL BE AVAILABLE --
WE ARE COMMITTED TO ENSURING OUR
TESTING RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE
TO WISCONSINITES.
THE PLAN IS TO TRANSLATE IT INTO
ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES MOVING
FORWARD.
BOXING IN THE VIRUS ALSO MEANS
WE NEED TO FULLY SUPPORT OUR
HEALTH CARE SERVICE PROVIDERS BY
HELPING OFFSET THEIR LOSSES OR
EXPENSES DUE TO THE COVID-19
PANDEMIC.
THAT IS WHY ALSO TOMORROW, DHS
IS EXPECTING -- ACCEPTING
APPLICATIONS FOR A SECOND ROUND
OF THE CARES ACT PROVIDER
PAYMENT PROGRAM TO COVER THE
MONTHS OF JUNE, JULY, AND
AUGUST.
WE ENCOURAGE ALL ELIGIBLE HEALTH
CARE SERVICE PROVIDERS TO APPLY
AND WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR
INCREDIBLE WORK DURING THIS
PANDEMIC.
MORE INFORMATION AND THE LINK TO
THE APPLICATION CAN BE FOUND IN
THAT HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
SECTION OF OUR COVID-19 WEBPAGE.
WHEN IT COMES TO STOPPING THE
SPREAD, WE KNOW ONE OF THE MOST
EFFECTIVE TOOLS I OUR TOOLBOX
IS WEARING A FACE COVERING.
THE SCIENCE TELLS US THAT
COVID-19 IS TRANSMITTED THROUGH
RESPIRATORY DROPLETS AND WE KNOW
FACE COVERINGS HELP PREVENT THAT
TRANSMISSION, WHICH IS WHY A
MASK ORDER IS THE RIGHT
STRATEGY.
NOW THERE IS MORE DATA TO BACK
THAT UP.
A RECENT STUDY PUBLISHED IN
HEALTH AFFAIRS INDICATES THAT
STATES WITH SUCH REQUIREMENTS
EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT DECLINES
IN DAILY COVID-19 INFECTION
RATES COMPARED TO STATES WITHOUT
THIS REQUIREMENT.
THE DECLINE WAS MORE PRONOUNCED
THE LONGER THE ORDER WAS IN
PLACE.
SINCE THE FACE COVERING ORDER
HAS BEEN IN PLACE IN WISCONSIN,
WE HAVE SEEN A DECREASE IN OUR
COVID-19 CASE ACTIVITY LEVELS
AND IN OUR DAILY TRENDS.
THE SCIENCE AND THE DATA TELL US
THAT FACE COVERINGS MAKE A
DIFFERENCE.
THANK YOU, WISCONSIN, FOR MAKING
A DIFFERENCE.
WE HAVE MORE WORK TO DO, BUT WE
ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT
DIRECTION.
AS WE START LABOR DAY WEEKEND,
PLEASE REMEMBER IT IS NOT THE
TIME TO TAKE OUR FOOT OFF THE
GAS.
GATHERINGS CAN EASILY SPREAD
COVID-19 AND WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO
FIND ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO ENJOY
THE WEEKEND.
IF YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE
DECISIONS ABOUT ACTIVITIES, OUR
INDIVIDUAL DECISION TOOL FOUND
UNDER "MAKING SAFER CHOICES" ON
THE COVID WEBPAGE CAN HELP YOU
THINK THROUGH CONSIDERATIONS ON
HOW SOMETHING COULD AFFECT YOU,
LOVED ONES, AND YOUR COMMUNITY.
I WEAR A MASK
