The Badger Herald will update this article daily as more COVID-19 information comes out.
Wednesday, March 25
Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases rose to 585. 10089 people have tested negative, according to the Department of Health Services. Eighty-eight of those cases come from Dane County, with 290 in Milwaukee County, 18 in Fond du Lac County and 42 in Waukesha County.
Mary Magnuson/The Badger Herald
This morning, Dane County reported its first death from COVID-19. According to a Public Health Madison Dane County news release, the individual who passed away was in their late 70s.
The University of Wisconsin reported an increase in bias incidents targeting Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi-American students and employees in a statement today. The Dean of Students Office will hold a virtual town hall on the issue tomorrow at 4 p.m. central time.
Tuesday, March 24
Wisconsin now has 457 COVID-19 cases, with 8237 people testing negative. According to the Department of Health Services, 72 of those cases are in Dane County, 219 are in Milwaukee County, 18 are in Fond du Lac County and 31 are in Waukesha County.
The University of Wisconsin has announced that all non-essential campus events and university-sponsored travel has been canceled through May 15. To be deemed essential you must be approved by university officials.
UW also announced that, in light of Gov. Evers Safer at Home Order, beginning today all further dorm move-out appointments have been canceled.
UW will also be offering income continuation for all student hourly employees and federal work-study students for the weeks of March 23 and March 30, according to a press release.
Federal work-study students will be paid at their current rate for 10 hours of work a week, these payments will arrive April 9 and April 23.
All other hourly employees will receive a lump sum of $130 a week with the same payment schedule as work-study students.
UW has encouraged student employees who can work remotely to continue to do so and has assured students that no university job will be terminated due to an inability to perform duties during COVID-19.
In a tweet, Gov. Evers announced the beginning of his Safer at Home order. He urged residents to take this order seriously.
The Safer at Home order I issued today, isn’t a joke. It’s a necessary precaution that will help protect the health and lives of many. #StayHome because it’s #SaferAtHome for you, your family, your neighbors, and our communities.
Review the order here:https://t.co/EcfWmYuzpE
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) March 24, 2020
Monday, March 23
Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases rose to 416. 7050 people have tested negative, according to the Department of Health Services. Seventy of those cases come from Dane County, with 204 in Milwaukee County, 16 in Fond du Lac County and 30 in Waukesha County.
Milwaukee reported one death, meaning five people have died of COVID-19 in Wisconsin. According to the Milwaukee Medical Examiner, the death was a 54-year-old male.
MCMEO investigating the death of a 54 year old male from complications of Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. Decedent had been hospitalized for a short time prior to his death.
— Medical Examiner (@mkemedexamine) March 23, 2020
The University of Wisconsin announced today they would postpone commencement because of the pandemic. They will still hold a virtual commencement ceremony May 8, but the physical ceremony will be held at a later date, Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in a statement.
According to Blank, the university will cancel all individual college or school commencements as well.
Gov. Tony Evers announced in a series of tweets he will issue a Safer at Home order tomorrow, effective Thursday.
We have been working hard to ensure the health and safety of the people of our state as we have responded to COVID-19. We’ve taken important steps, but folks, time is of the essence. So today I’m announcing we'll be issuing a #SaferAtHome order tomorrow. Here’s what this means ⬇️
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) March 23, 2020
This order, his tweets said, will shut down nonessential services (healthcare and grocery stores being essential). It encourages people to social distance as much as possible and only go out and about for essential trips, like grocery runs.
Sunday, March 22
Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases rose to 381. 4628 people have tested negative, according to the Department of Health Services. Sixty one of those cases come from Dane County, with 182 in Milwaukee County, 16 in Fond du Lac County and 30 in Waukesha County.
Yesterday, Gov. Tony Evers urged Wisconsin residents to stay home as much as possible, in accordance with guidelines from the Center for Disease Control, in a press release.
According to a press release from the University of Wisconsin, all campus buildings will have restricted access starting Monday. Currently only essential personnel have access to the buildings. Custodial and mail services will be suspended or curtailed, depending on the building.
The same release urged people to avoid coming to campus if possible.
Saturday, March 21
Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases rose to 281. 4628 people have tested negative, according to the Department of Health Services. Forty nine of those cases come from Dane County, with 126 in Milwaukee County, 15 in Fond du Lac County and 20 in Waukesha County.
Milwaukee reported one death, meaning four people have died of COVID-19 in Wisconsin. According to the Milwaukee Medical Examiner, the death was a 69-year-old male.
MCMEO investigating the death of a 69 year old male from complications of Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. Decedent had been hospitalized for several days prior to his death.
— Medical Examiner (@mkemedexamine) March 21, 2020
According to a press release by Gov. Tony Evers, the four remaining Wisconsin residents who had been on the cruise ship the Grand Princess, which had widespread transmission of COVID-19, returned late last night. They will self-quarantine upon their return, the release said.
Originally, according to the release, there had been 38 Wisconsin residents aboard, all of whom were asymptomatic, but 29 returned last Sunday.
Friday, March 20
Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases rose to 206. 3455 people have tested negative, according to the Department of Health Services. Thirty two of those cases come from Dane County, with 85 in Milwaukee County, 14 in Fond du Lac County and 15 in Waukesha County.
The DHS identified community spread (meaning the virus emerged without history of travel in the patient) in Brown County, which has two cases, and Columbia county, which has five cases.
Milwaukee reported one death, meaning three people have died of COVID-19 in Wisconsin. According to the Milwaukee Medical Examiner, the death was a 66-year-old male.
MCMEO investigating the death of a 66 year old male from complications of Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. Decedent was a Milwaukee resident and had been hospitalized for several days prior to his death.
— Medical Examiner (@mkemedexamine) March 20, 2020
County Executive Joe Parisi announced yesterday in a press release Dane County would allocate over $150,000 to book dozens of hotel rooms for homeless shelters to ensure their residents could practice social distancing.
Gov. Tony Evers released updates to his mass gatherings moratorium including clarifications for bars, allied health providers, banks, laundromats, polling facilities and other places. Bars may operate like restaurants, and offer take-out options for food and alcohol. Banks, laundromats, polling centers, financial institutions, allied health practitioners (like acupuncture) can all remain operational but should practice social distancing.
All parts of the transportation system will remain operational, Evers’ order said.
Thursday, March 19
Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases rose to 155. 2192 people have tested negative, according to the Department of Health Services. Twenty seven of those cases come from Dane County, with 62 in Milwaukee, 14 in Fond du Lac and 12 in Waukesha.
Gov. Tony Evers confirmed two deaths in Wisconsin from COVID-19 in a press release. The first, a male in his 50s, died in Fond Du Lac county. The second, a male in his 90s, died in Ozaukee County.
Wednesday, March 18
Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases rose to 106. 1577 people have tested negative, according to the Department of Health Services. Twenty-three of those cases come from Dane County, with 47 in Milwaukee and 12 in Fond du Lac.
Milwaukee gained the most cases since yesterday’s update, rising from 24 to 47, while Dane only gained four new cases.
Gov. Tony Evers directed the DHS to scale down child care, so operations only have 10 employees and up to 50 children at once in one place.
Tuesday, March 17
Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases rose to 72. 1038 people have tested negative, according to the Department of Health Services. Nineteen of those cases come from Dane County, with 24 in Milwaukee and 11 in Fond du Lac.
The Department of Public Health Madison and Dane County confirmed the virus has reached “community transmission” level, meaning people without a history of travel have contracted the virus and are potentially spreading it through the community.
Other counties with confirmed community transmission include Milwaukee and Kenosha.
Public Health Madison and Dane County announces new COVID-19 cases
The University of Wisconsin suspended all face-to-face instruction for the remainder of the spring semester. UW encouraged all non-essential employees and essential employees with the ability to telecommute to work to do so.
While the dorms will remain open, only those unable to return home or unable to continue online classes from home may stay.
Chancellor Rebecca Blank recommended students not return to Madison after spring break if they can stay in their permanent residence instead.
UW suspends all spring semester face-to-face course instruction
Monday, March 16.
Wisconsin’s number of COVID-19 cases rose to 47. 504 people have tested negative, according to the Department of Health Services. Ten of those cases come from Dane County, with 13 in Milwaukee and 11 in Fond du Lac.
Gov. Tony Evers directed the DHS to ban gatherings of 50 or more people. This includes crowds at theaters, gyms, stadiums, concert halls and other public places. This doesn’t include childcare centers, residence facilities, hospitals, pharmacies, airports, detox facilities or jails.
Nationally, President Donald Trump recommended avoiding gatherings of 10 or more people, according to Politico coverage. He also recommended everyone with even minor symptoms stay home.
Sunday, March 15.
Wisconsin now has a total of 33 COVID-19 cases. With 6 in Dane County, 7 in Milwaukee County and 11 in Fond du Lac County.
The University of Wisconsin has also released a press release advising employees who can perform their job responsibilities through telecommuting to do so as soon as possible.
Saturday, March 14.
Wisconsin has had 27 people test positive for coronavirus, with 26 active cases, according to the Department of Health Services. Six cases originated in Dane County and 6 cases originated in Milwaukee County.
The Public Health Department of Madison and Dane County issued an order limiting gatherings at worship and religious gathering centers.
Executive Director of University Health Services Jake Baggott sent an email to University of Wisconsin students about the outbreak and the case on campus.
Baggott said if students have come in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, PHMDC will contact them directly for testing.
Friday, March 13.
A University of Wisconsin employee has contracted COVID-19, according to a UW News release. The employee works in the School of Veterinary Medicine. The employee recently traveled to a country with widespread coronavirus transmission. They are now isolated at their home.
Public Health Madison & Dane County said they’re identifying close contacts of the employee and will ask those contacts to get tested. Non-essential employees in the building have been sent home to self-monitor for symptoms.
As of 4 p.m., officials have identified 19 cases of coronavirus in Wisconsin, one of which is no longer active.
Several cases come from Sun Prairie, where a Sun Prairie after-school program worker tested positive for the virus, according to Wisconsin State Journal reporting, and three people contracted the virus at a church service, according to NBC 15 reporting.
University of Wisconsin employees received an email from the Office of Human Resources advising them to telecommute if possible, instead of coming in-person to work. The OHR said they’ve streamlined the approval process for workers attempting to telecommute.
The UW Foundation started a fund to assist students experiencing COVID-19-related emergencies, according to a UW news release. Interested donors can contribute here.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor sent students an email encouraging students not to panic, but to prepare for the extended break of in-person classes. Reesor said students should keep on top of their classes once they start up again online, self-quarantine if necessary and take advantage of CDC and UW resources.
Gov. Tony Evers declared a state public health emergency yesterday. The Center for Disease Control awarded $10 million for WI to combat the pandemic.
