GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – The Safer At Home order taking effect in Wisconsin on Wednesday is receiving some complaints and confusion from the public – but praise from local health experts.
“We needed that in healthcare last week, but we’ll take it today. We hope that people will abide by it,” says Dr. Ashok Rai of Prevea Health, “In most countries or states where it has worked, it’s been some sort of mandated social isolation – or at least making sure that people know they should stay safe at home. So I applaud the governor for doing that. It’s an extreme decision, but it’s definitely needed. It’s not an overreaction by any means.”
Only essential businesses as deemed by the state will be open for the next 30 days. But mandating at least some form of isolation could reduce the spread – or even provide relief for healthcare workers.
“What has been shown to help decrease the amount of people needing to be in the hospital, or at least letting hospitals keep up with the sickness, has been social isolation,” Rai says, “We really hope that this is some short-term pain for a significant long-term gain to get us all back to business as quickly as possible.”
Rai continues on to say that health experts would not have recommended taking such actions if they didn’t believe it would make a significant impact.
“The whole point of this was to prevent people from going into an environment where they’re being exposed to the virus on a surface – or to multiple people who may be carrying the virus,” Rai says, “Unfortunately, without the ability to test everybody – which we’re still limited on testing – this is the best we can do.”
As for how long this order could last – is currently up in the air. The order signed by the state on Tuesday mandates the closure of all non-essential business until April 24th, but that could change.
“Could be two weeks – and then the governor could reassess. It could be thirty days and he says we need another six weeks. It’s really hard to know that right now,” Rai says.
It could also be shortened by any superceding orders made during that span.
While even the shortest span of time with closures and restrictions is causing frustration for many in the public, Dr. Rai reminds everyone that the order doesn’t equate to being locked in a dark room for the next 30 days.
“There are a lot of different ways people can communicate these days without being in person. Just talk to any teenager out there, they seem to prefer that. You can still be outside and take walks, the weather is getting better so I encourage everyone to do that, just make sure you’re keeping your distance,” Rai tells WTAQ News.
