In a press conference Thursday, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
Though there have only been seven documented cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin thus far, Evers said in a press release the state is actively working to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“The governor signed an executive order that directs DHS to take all necessary and appropriate measures to prevent and respond to incidences of COVID-19,” Evers said in the release.
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Evers said this includes purchasing and distributing medications, regardless of the healthcare coverage of the impacted individual.
Additionally, Evers said state funds will now support local medical facilities with quarantine costs.
“This can be a frightening time, but our state has incredible health professionals who are working to contain the spread,” Evers said.
Also in accordance with the executive order, the Wisconsin National Guard has begun to transport 37 individuals who have potentially been exposed to the virus while on a cruise which docked in Oakland, CA, according to reporting from the Wisconsin State Journal.
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Evers’s response comes just one day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded Wisconsin over $10 million in order to act upon the COVID-19 outbreak. The website for Health and Human Services has the specific funding details.
According to a release from the HHS, the $10 million is part of a grant of over $560 million the CDC will award to governments across the country in order to make certain medical resources are available to as many Americans as possible.
The funding will increase the capacity of local and state leaders to contain the spread of the virus in Wisconsin and across the country. In addition, the grants will diminish the spread of the disease in communities throughout the U.S., the HHS release said.
