The Badger Herald will update this article daily as more COVID-19 information comes out. 

Tuesday, April 7.

Wisconsin now has 2,578 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 92 deaths, according to the Department of Health Services. 

Dane County now has 289 cases and 11 deaths, Milwaukee County has 1,323 cases and 49 deaths.

Four residents and seven workers at Oakwood Village, a continuing care facility in Madison have tested positive for COVID-19. This is the first reported outbreak in a nursing home for Dane County.

Monday, April 6.

There are now 2,440 cases of confirmed COVID-19 in Wisconsin and at least 77 deaths, according to the Department of Health Services. 

There have been 278 cases and nine deaths in Dane County. In Milwaukee County there have been 1,256 cases and 40 deaths.

Today, Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order rescheduling tomorrow’s in-person primary election for June 9. A few hours later the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the election would continue as scheduled. 

Sunday, April 5.

Wisconsin now has 2,267 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 28% of whom have been hospitalized. There have been at least 68 deaths, according to the Department of Health Services. 

There have been 269 cases and eight deaths in Dane County. In Milwaukee County there have been 1,148 cases and 34 deaths.

Saturday, April 4.

There are now 2,112 confirmed people with COVID-19 in Wisconsin, 588 of whom are hospitalized, and at least 56 deaths, according to the Department of Health Services.

There have been 253 cases and four deaths in Dane County and 1,069 cases and 29 deaths in Milwaukee County.

According to an email update from Public Health Madison and Dane County, cases this week increased 56%.

Gov. Tony Evers announced today the federal government granted Wisconsin a major Federal Disaster Declaration. According to a press release from Evers’ office, this grants access to Public Assistance programs for the state. It will help reimburse emergency protective measures taken by the state and county governments.

Friday, April 3.

There are now 1,916 confirmed people with COVID-19 in Wisconsin, 487 of whom are hospitalized, and at least 37 deaths, according to the Department of Health Services.

There have been 244 cases and four deaths in Dane County and 955 cases and 19 deaths in Milwaukee County.

Gov. Tony Evers called the Wisconsin legislature into special session with an executive order today to discuss changing the upcoming election to an all-mail-in election. Many groups and organizations across Wisconsin, including Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, have advocated for an absentee election because of poll worker shortages and health concerns.

City of Madison asks federal court to postpone elections due to voter turnout, health concerns

Evers and the DHS announced in a press release today the creation of a program called Resilient Wisconsin, designed to support Wisconsinites’ mental health during the pandemic.

Resilient Wisconsin will help those struggling with their mental health find specific resources and support netweorks.

Thursday, April 2.

There are now 1,730 confirmed people with COVID-19 in Wisconsin and at least 31 deaths, according to the Department of Health Services.

There have been 228 cases and three deaths in Dane County and 869 cases and 16 deaths in Milwaukee County.

The University of Wisconsin canceled all in-person summer term classes for summer 2020. They will still offer over 300 online classes.

The Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee rescheduled to the week of August 17, 2020, due to COVID-19 concerns.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway released a statement condemning racist incidents towards Asian-Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rhodes-Conway called on community members to treat each other with kindness and reject discrimination.

Four Madison firefighters contracted COVID-19, though it’s unsure whether or not their jobs exposed them to the virus.

Wednesday, April 1.

There are now 1,550 confirmed people with COVID-19 in Wisconsin and at least 24 deaths, according to the Department of Health Services.

There have been 215 cases and three deaths in Dane County and 780 cases and 11 deaths in Milwaukee County.

According to a media update from Public Health Madison and Dane County, the three people who have died were two women and one man, all over the age of 65.

Madison Metro instituted some protocol changes, including rear door entry to protect the driver and a maximum of 15 passengers per bus. Metro now runs on a Saturday schedule every day, according to a statement from Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway.

Tuesday, March 31

There are now 1,351 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin and at least 16 deaths, according to the Department of Health Services.

There have been 194 cases and two deaths in Dane County, and 674 cases and six deaths in Milwaukee County.

Tuesday Afternoon, Gov. Tony Evers sent a letter to President Trump asking him to declare a Major Disaster for the State of Wisconsin in light of these rising numbers.

This declaration would activate the following Federal Emergency Management Agency programs — Public Assistance, Direct Assistance, Hazard Mitigation, Crisis Counseling, Community Disaster Loans and the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Program.

Monday, March 30

Wisconsin now has 1,221 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 14 deaths. There are 183 cases in Dane County and 617 cases in Milwaukee County, according to the Department of Health Services. 

A new study conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington projected that Wisconsin will reach its peak number of COVID-19-related deaths in about 25 days.

The study projected that at this peak the number of daily deaths will be 37.

This study also found that the country as a whole will be reaching its peak number of daily deaths in about 15 days.

Sunday, March 29

Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases has reached 1,112 as of Sunday afternoon. There have been 172 cases in Dane County and 565 cases in Milwaukee County, according to the Department of Health Services. 

There have been 13 deaths, with one in Dane County and five in Milwaukee.

Twenty percent of these cases are people in the 70-79 age range while 13% are in the 20-29 age range.

The number of cases in Wisconsin rose almost three times in one week, last Sunday there were 381 cases, according to the DHS.

Saturday, March 28

Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases rose to 989. 15,232 people have tested negative, according to the Department of Health Services. One hundred and fifty-eight of those cases come from Dane County, with 489 in Milwaukee County.

Gov. Tony Evers told DHS Secretary Andrea Palm to suspend all evictions and foreclosures during the COVID-19 pandemic in an emergency order today.

Evers and the DHS also simplified the license renewal process for many healthcare workers in an emergency order today, letting recently retired professionals back into the workforce and easing the process for those licensed out of state to practice in Wisconsin. It also has provisions allowing nursing students close to graduation to practice by lowering certain clinical requirements.

COVID-19 pandemic highlights nursing shortages across Wisconsin

Friday, March 27

Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases rose to 842. 13,140 people have tested negative, according to the Department of Health Services. One hundred and thirty-three of those cases come from Dane County, with 411 in Milwaukee County.

The death count rose to 13 today in Wisconsin, up three from yesterday. Dane County still has one death, Milwaukee still has six.

Interim Medical Director of University Health Services Patrick Kelly sent an email reporting new COVID-19 cases in Madison from students coming back from spring break.

Kelly urged students to self-quarantine for 14 days following DHS guidelines if they’ve returned from spring break, and monitor for symptoms.

Dane County sent out a county-wide alert today about how to minimize contact with others and reduce COVID-19 transmission. The information in the alert came from a joint press release by Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Dane County Executive Joe Parisi.

Thursday, March 26

Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases rose to 707. 11,583 people have tested negative, according to the Department of Health Services. One hundred and fourteen of those cases come from Dane County, with 347 in Milwaukee County, 25 in Washington County and 56 in Waukesha County.

Ten people in Wisconsin have died from COVID-19, up three since yesterday. All three of today’s deaths came from Milwaukee, according to the Milwaukee Medical Examiner. One was a 57-year-old female, one a 79-year-old female and one a 65-year-old-female.

University of Wisconsin students can choose to grade their spring semester classes pass/fail with a special coronavirus P/F option, Provost Karl Scholz announced today in an email.

While Scholz said UW hopes to extend this option to most undergraduate and graduate classes, some required for accreditation or certain degree programs still cannot be taken pass/fail.

Students will receive a grade in all classes, but can opt into P/F until May 22, eight days after the final grade deadline.

UPDATED: UW adopts Pass/Fail option in response to COVID-19, online classes

President of the Dane County Chiefs of Police Association Kristen Roman released a statement assuring citizens even with Gov. Tony Evers’ Safer at Home order, officers still cover Dane County streets 24/7.

Roman said officers will continue to operate under the same standards as before the pandemic, meaning they won’t stop people from traveling, though with the new regulations, they may break up large gatherings.

Under a new initiative from Evers, people can now donate any Personal Protective Equipment to healthcare providers on the front lines at this link. The state will reimburse anyone who donates large quantities of PPE, according to the website.