Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers wears a mask during a July 7th press briefing.
MADISON, WI (WTAQ) — Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers says he isn’t planning to issue a mandatory mask ruling or another ‘Safer at Home’ order right now.
“We’re looking at it, but frankly the Supreme Court has made it very much more complex than what it ever should have been,” Evers told reporters on Tuesday. “The Supreme Court…constructed a chaotic situation, so we really don’t know if I have the authority to do that.”
The Governor’s ‘Safer at Home’ order ended in May after the state Supreme Court sided with Assembly Republicans who argued that Evers overstepped his authority when he extended the order keeping many businesses closed during the early months of the pandemic.
COVID-19 case numbers have been rising rapidly over the past several weeks, with the 7-day case average hovering around 550, up from around 260 in mid-June.
“Public health is everyone’s issue,” the Governor said. “Overcoming COVID-19 is on every community, on every age group, and every Wisconsinite.”
The Governor recommended wearing a mask, avoiding group gatherings, and staying home unless absolutely necessary during his remarks on Tuesday.
The rise hasn’t corresponded with a severe spike in the state’s death or hospitalization rate, something Bureau of Infectious Diseases Dr. Ryan Westergaard says is because younger people are being impacted more.
“The number of deaths we’re seeing is lower because the proportion of people who are becoming infected in the younger age group is higher,” said Westergaard.
The 20-29 age group accounts for 24% of the state’s 32,556 total cases reported since the onset of the pandemic; that’s greater than any other age group. The virus is significantly less lethal in younger people, with only eight reported deaths in that age group in Wisconsin since the pandemic began.
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