Gov. Tony Evers, D-Wisconsin, held a statewide address regarding rising COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin and signed an order advising residents to stay at home when possible.
Evers said it took Wisconsin seven and a half months to get to 100,000 cases, but only 36 days to add another 100,000.
According to Evers, Wisconsin’s economy cannot bounce back until the virus is contained.
“I am concerned about what our current trajectory means for Wisconsin healthcare workers, families and our economy if we don’t get this virus under control,” Evers said.“So, I want to be clear tonight — each day this virus goes unchecked is a setback for our economic recovery.”
In the press conference, Evers announced Executive Order 94, advising Wisconsinites to stay home to save lives.
Dane County’s 14-day average number of cases continues to increase and is currently at 277 cases per day.
The University of Wisconsin has also seen an increase in cases on campus, with a 7-day positive rate of 2.8%, according to the UW COVID Dashboard.
In an email statement Director of News and Media Relations at UW Meredith McGlone said it is unsurprising that we have seen an increase in cases considering positivity rates in Dane County and the rest of Wisconsin.
“We cannot emphasize enough: all of us at UW must take this very seriously and strictly follow public health guidelines,” Mcglone said. “That includes avoiding gathering with anyone outside your household, wearing face coverings as much as possible and frequently washing/sanitizing your hands.”
According to the UW COVID Dashboard, the university is performing additional on-campus testing this week including required testing for Witte residents Nov. 3 and 9, Sellery residents Nov. 9, and Ogg residents Nov. 4 due to new cases in these dorms.
Currently, there are 65 students in on-campus isolation and 48 in housing quarantine, according to the UW COVID Dashboard.
All interested students living in residence halls can participate in free COVID-19 antibody testing from Nov. 9 to 12 offered at the Carson Gulley Center and Gordon Dining & Event Center. No appointments are necessary.
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UW also plans to expand COVID testing for the spring semester to twice a week.
“Protect yourself and your loved ones by limiting your out-of-home activity as much as possible for the next two and a half weeks,” McGlone said.
