Wisconsin Reaches 4,591 Coronavirus Cases
WISCONSIN— The number of coronavirus cases for Wisconsin was 4,591 for Tuesday. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has restarted its daily coronavirus update dashboard after a weekend upgrade.
DHS reported nearly triple its normal number of negative tests as it caught up. The 42,131 total tests reflected in its Monday update surpassed the previous one-day high of 18,682 results recorded 11 days earlier, WMTV-TV reported.
The department anticipated brief spike due to a break in reporting. The number of deaths with the backlog was 33. There are currently 37,358 coronavirus cases in Wisconsin.
A Wisconsin judge on Monday upheld and reissued an order from Gov. Tony Evers' administration limiting the number of people who can gather in bars, restaurants and other indoor places to 25% of capacity.
A Wisconsin judge last week temporarily blocked the order from Gov. Tony Evers' administration.
On Monday, a judge declined a request from the Tavern League to keep the order on hold while the lawsuit is pending. During the hearing, the judge also declined to stay his ruling while the Tavern League and others fighting it appeal his decision.
The Tavern League argued that Evers needed to work through the Legislature to approve an emergency rule setting capacity limits, rather than issuing the order. It pointed to a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling from May undoing Evers' "safer at home" order.
The capacity limits order was issued Oct. 6 by Andrea Palm, secretary of the state Department of Health Services, in the face of surging coronavirus cases in Wisconsin. Evers said he was making the move to curb the spread of the virus as it spikes in Wisconsin.
The state was opened a field hospital near Milwaukee on to handle an overflow of patients from hospitals that hit a record-high number of COVID-19 patients. The capacity limits order is set to expire on Nov. 6, but could be renewed.
Evers also declared a public heath emergency in September and extended a statewide mask mandate until Nov. 21. The order, which was in effect since August, was set to expire in September.
Under the original mask order, Wisconsin residents age 5 and older are required to wear a face mask when they are indoors or in an enclosed space, other than at a private residence, with anyone outside their family or living unit.
State officials said face masks also are strongly recommended if a person is outdoors where maintaining physical distancing is not possible.
The order also spells out exceptions to the requirement, listing activities such as when someone is eating, drinking or swimming. People with health conditions or disabilities that would preclude the wearing of a face mask safely are also exempt from the requirement.
Reporting and writing from The Associated Press was used in this story.
This article originally appeared on the Across Wisconsin Patch
