Wisconsin Coronavirus Cases At 1,900; Now 44 Deaths

MILWAUKEE, WI — On Friday, public health officials and Gov. Tony Evers released the latest coronavirus statistics for Wisconsin. According to Wisconsin Department of Health Services data, the state has now seen 1,916 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 37 deaths. When DHS data is combined with county and local data, the state death toll rises to 44 as of Friday afternoon.

Of the confirmed cases, health officials say 487 of them, roughly 25 percent, have required hospitalizations. The state has returned 22,377 negative test results, officials said Friday.

Ryan Westergaard, Chief Medical Officer with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, said health officers are focusing on where COVID-19 is hitting communities the hardest, especially in high-population-density urban areas.

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"We're paying particular attention where the number of increased cases appear to be highest," Westergaard said. "The epidemic takes off more quickly because people are in close proximity to each other. Our poor communities have a large disparity in health conditions and resources. We are working on getting health services to those areas."

Election Happening April 7, But Results Won't Come For Another Week

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge William M. Conley of the U.S. District Court - Western District of Wisconsin refused to postpone the election, saying he did not see evidence that "hundreds of thousands" of voters would have their civil rights violated amid the coronavirus public health emergency.

In the same ruling, Conley extended the deadline for absentee ballots to be received by election officials from 8 p.m. on election night to 4 p.m. on April 13. The move gives poll workers more time to tally votes.

According to a WISN 12 report, Conley's ruling could have created a situation where local clerks started reporting partial results from the absentee ballots they counted in addition to the in-person voters on election day. The total results wouldn't be known until all ballots had been counted by April 13.

Wisconsin is the only state with a primary election in April after Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers staunchly supported moving forward with the election despite the coronavirus public health emergency.

Political Foes Battle Over Election Status

Earlier this week, Evers called for the Republican-controlled state legislature to adopt a number of provisions to make the April 7 election safer for poll workers and voters alike, including calling for absentee ballots to be mailed to all registered voters.

A brief summary of that legislation is available here for review. Additionally, Gov. Evers called for the Legislature to act on this issue in a video, available here.

"I can't move this election or change it on my own. My hands are tied. I even publicly called them to act. They are publicly unwilling to change." Evers said Friday in a conference call with reporters.

After the announcement, Republican leaders signaled that they will outright reject the governor's call for a special session.

Coronavirus Deaths By County

Source: DHS Data and county data from across Wisconsin.

24 Milwaukee County
5 Ozaukee County
4 Dane County
2 Washington County
2 Fond du Lac County
2 Sauk County
1 Iron County
1 Rock County
1 Sheboygan County
1 Waukesha County
1 Waupaca County

Coronavirus Cases In Wisconsin

Source: Department of Health Services Data

Related Reading

• Wisconsin Coronavirus Tracker

• 2020 Democratic National Convention Postponed

• National Guard To Be Called Out On Election Day Over Coronavirus

• Coronavirus Closures: Walmart, Woodman's, Target, Mayfair, More

• What's going on in Wisconsin? Find Out Here

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This article originally appeared on the Milwaukee Patch