MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – There are now over 1,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin with 31 deaths.There are 461 hospitalizations, or around 27% of total cases. 20,317 people have tested negative.
But without intervention like the Safer at Home order, things could be a lot worse. Initial projections showed more than 22,000 cases by April 8th, with 400-1,500 deaths as results of those infections.
“Our projections were based on there being no intervention here in the state of Wisconsin. Or no further intervention,” says Department of Health Services Secretary Designee Andrea Palm, “Those are not deaths by April 8th – but as a results of total infections by that date. There’s a lag time between exposure, infection, showing symptoms, getting a test, seeing more severe illness, hospitalization, and ultimately death. That takes a period of time.”
Some people question the necessity and effectiveness of interventions like the Safer at Home order and social distancing, but with all measures being relatively recent actions – the true impact isn’t quite known at this point.
“You need at least thirty days to see how these interventions are working so you can reassess them and plan next steps based on the data,” Palm says, “There’s a period of time that you need to break the cycle. So there certainly is some science and evidence around things like school closures and their effectiveness in times of outbreak.”
Health officials are reviewing the real numbers against early projections every few days to get an idea of what the current trajectory looks like and what other actions can be taken to keep the curve flattened over time.
“The numbers didn’t double every 2-3 days, they doubled every 4-5 days. So I think that’s some good evidence that the interventions that we took are showing that the outcome up until this point hasn’t been as bad as what we predicted if we hadn’t done it,” says Dr. Ryan Westergaard.
As for the confusion over essential versus non-essential businesses during the Safer at Home order – there is a comprehensive list on the state’s website. But even with the list, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation has still received over 4,000 calls from businesses across the state.
“A business should be able to find themselves in that order and determine whether or not they’re essential. If there’s a gray area, if they’re partially essential,” says Secretary & CEO Missy Hughes.
The WEDC is working to answer those questions and make clarifications to businesses who inquire about specific cases.
