MADISON, WI (WTAQ) — Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and DHS Secretary Designee Andrea Palm have issued a new order limiting indoor gathers to 25% of a building’s capacity.
Emergency Order #3 was signed on Tuesday following an increase in coronavirus hospitalizations, particular in Green Bay and the Fox Valley.
“The spread of this disease currently is intense and it’s community wide,” Palm said. “We absolutely see transmission among indoor gatherings…it’s so high that going to a gathering puts you at high risk of exposure.”
Governor Tony Evers says the new order isn’t in violation of state law because it’s being issued for a different reason than the last order. That was his response when WTAQ asked him how many orders he believed he was entitled to make during the pandemic.
“Certainly UW campuses were an issue [last time], this time it’s just a massive number of hospitals that are teetering,” said Evers. “The virus doesn’t follow our rules.”
That’s why, Evers says, the order isn’t in violation of state law.
Nonetheless, Evers expects Emergency Order #3 to be quickly challenged in court.
“I guess we would expect to have a challenge in the court,” said Evers. “We believe we can overcome that challenge, just like we believe we can overcome the challenges on the present mask order.”
The order mandating the wearing of face coverings and masks indoors went into force in August. That’s been challenged by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, who argue Evers is violating state law through the continued issuance of emergency orders during the pandemic.
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