WisconsinWatch.org (https://www.wisconsinwatch.org/series/wisconsin-covid-19-update/page/2/)
A roundup of top news and information about Wisconsin’s response to the coronavirus. If you want to receive these updates in your email inbox, click here. Also follow our Coronavirus Coverage series as Wisconsin Watch’s reporters and editors investigate state and local impacts of the global pandemic and issues related to quality of life in Wisconsin.
Today we highlight a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story detailing threats to Milwaukee Health Department inspectors during the pandemic.
The department halted evening and weekend inspections for COVID-19 violations for weeks after supporters of President Donald Trump pushed and harassed inspectors at a mid-November rally, Alison Dirr reports.
Today we highlight the latest installment of our Outbreak Wisconsin collaboration with WPR.
Bram Sable-Smith has followed Mariah Clark, a UW Health emergency department nurse, throughout a pandemic filled with anxiety and loss. But this month she reflected on a moment of hope; On Dec. 17, Clark joined health care colleagues in receiving a first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.
Today we highlight our story about how some hospitals continue to sue patients over medical debt during the pandemic — particularly Froedtert South hospital in Kenosha.
In April, Froedtert South said it would make debt lawsuits “rare” during the pandemic, reports Bram Sable-Smith of WPR and Wisconsin Watch. But the hospital has since filed at least 231 lawsuits in small claims court against debtors, eclipsing its annual total from 2019.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Friday criticized the Trump administration for shrinking the state’s next shipment of the new Pfizer coronavirus vaccine — urging the federal government to expedite shipments to Wisconsin and improve communication.
The state learned it would receive just 35,100 doses of the vaccine next week, fewer than expected after this week’s 49,725 doses. States so far have not learned of their next allocations until days before shipping, Evers said, creating logistical headaches.
The Wisconsin Department of Health services on Thursday reported 59 new deaths from COVID-19, pushing the state’s pandemic death toll to 4,255. Included in those numbers: Duane Bark — a beloved educator, football coach and athletic director who bonded with his daughter by painting her nails. Today we highlight Bram Sable-Smith’s story about Bark’s life.
With the tumultuous presidential election (mostly) in the rearview mirror, Congress on Wednesday closed in on a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package to benefit ailing businesses and millions of Americans who lost work to the pandemic, USA TODAY reports.
U.S. Sen. John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said stimulus checks of $600 or $700 — “double that for family and kids” — were part of the negotiations, Wu reports, along with $300 per week to boost unemployment benefits.
As Wisconsin begins to roll out the coronavirus vaccine, public health experts are warning residents not to let their guard down against a virus that continues to kill dozens of Wisconsinites each day.
The Department of Health Services is prioritizing health care workers as it distributes early shipments of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, Corrinne Hess reports for WPR. But it will likely take months to vaccinate most of the general population, meaning mask-wearing and social distancing remain crucial to limit infections and deaths in the pandemic’s homestretch.
Today we highlight the story of one extraordinary life cut short by COVID-19: That of 97-year-old Edward Anderson.
The quiet Barron County dairy farmer died last month, 48 hours after contracting COVID-19, Mentzer reports.
Mentzer’s story is part of a WPR/Wisconsin Life series — copublished by Wisconsin Watch — detailing the lives of some of the 4,000-plus Wisconsinites killed by COVID-19.
Wisconsin health care workers on Friday criticized Republican state lawmakers for gathering to discuss unfounded complaints about voter fraud in November’s presidential election — instead of addressing fallout from a viral pandemic that has killed more than 1,000 in the past three weeks and left thousands jobless.
Today we highlight a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin story about public health officers across the state who are increasingly facing political attacks — and even threats — while seeking to limit the deadly spread of COVID-19. In some cases, the pressures have prompted the officers to quit.
The trend comes as Wisconsin health officials are confronting an ‘infodemic’ of misinformation that is complicating the state’s pandemic response.
The U.S. Department of Defense is sending about 45 Army medical staffers to help overwhelmed Wisconsin hospitals as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, Gov. Tony Evers announced Wednesday.
The incoming staffers will aid Marshfield Medical Center facilities in Marshfield, Eau Claire, Beaver Dam and Rice Lake, Evers’ office said in a press release. Molly Beck has more details for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Today we highlight our story about Wisconsinites who believe the danger of the coronavirus pandemic has been greatly overblown — and the factors that lead to denialism about a virus that has killed more than 280,000 Americans, including more than 3,800 in Wisconsin.