With the weekly COVID-19 infection rate in Wisconsin reaching an all-time high of 36%, local and state government leaders are urging Wisconsinites to stay home during the rapidly approaching holiday season.

Tuesday night, Gov. Tony Evers announced a new executive order advising Wisconsinites to stay home, wear masks and take precautions amid rising cases. The order was only a list of recommendations and not legally binding.

Gov. Evers signs executive order, advises Wisconsin residents to stay home as cases continue to rise

“Wisconsin, this is serious,” Evers said. “The crisis is urgent. It’s not safe to go out … And it might not be safe for a while yet. So, please, cancel the happy hours, dinner parties, sleepovers and playdates at your home. And if a friend or family member invites you over, offer to hang out virtually instead.”

In an open letter to the Wisconsin Legislature Tuesday, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi implored state legislators to cooperate with Evers and follow the example which Dane County has set in controlling the pandemic.

In the letter, Parisi said he believed if the state of Wisconsin enacted public health orders similar to Dane County’s, the state’s rate of infection would slow.

“There is nothing more important right now than implementing a statewide plan to slow the spread of this virus,” Parisi said in the letter. “Use the Dane County orders as a template and implement it statewide for the next 30 days. We’ve had successes in Dane County. And we stand ready to help and to work with you, our state officials, to move a statewide plan forward.”

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While Dane County’s seven-day average infection rate of 9% is lower than the state’s 36%, it still is seeing a rise in cases, according to the Public Health Madison & Dane County COVID-19 dashboard.

Friday, Dane County saw a new high of 522 new cases.

“The more everyone in Wisconsin is able to abide by these recommendations, the bigger the impact in reducing the spread of COVID-19,” PHMDC said in a statement released today.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, an Evers spokeswoman declined to say why the order wasn’t more forceful. Though, according to the WSJ, Republicans have challenged Evers’ previous executive orders in court, succeeding in stripping them of any meaningful legal power.