APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) — Assembly Republicans gathered Thursday morning at Lamers Dairy in Appleton to call on Governor Tony Evers to begin the process of reopening amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Republicans argue that Governor Evers ‘Badger Bounce Back’ plan doesn’t make sense for places like Superior, which is closer to Winnipeg, Canada than it is the center of the state’s outbreak in Southeastern Wisconsin.
“Would it be rational for Superior to wait for Winnipeg to handle COVID-19? Of course not. So why should Superior wait for southeastern Wisconsin,” asked Harrison Assemblyman Ron Tusler.
The Governor’s ‘Safer at Home’ orders, Republicans say, have done the job they set out to do, as the day-to-day percentage growth in positive cases has declined over the past week.
“What this was all about to begin with is to ensure we didn’t have hospitals get overrun and unable to deal with the crisis,” said Kaukauna Assemblyman Jim Steineke. “We’ve gotten there.”
The ‘Safer at Home’ order has been in place since March 25th. Since the onset of the outbreak, more than a half million people have filed for unemployment in the state of Wisconsin.
“That’s roughly equivalent to every single person in the city of Milwaukee being unemployed,” said Steineke. “This is not something that, if it keeps going on for months, we’ll be able to bounce back from.”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected to rule on the legality of Governor Evers’ ‘Safer-at-Home’ order this week. It’s set to expire May 26th.
