Wisconsin Health Leaders Urge the Public to Take the Coronavirus Threat Seriously

Friday, November 13th, 2020 -- 12:54 PM

(AP) -Wisconsin health leaders sounded more alarms Wednesday about the rapidly spreading coronavirus, urging the public to take the threat seriously and for policy makers to come together and form a united front against the virus that shows no signs of abating.

The only way to stop the coronavirus pandemic from getting even worse in Wisconsin is to “triple down,” individually and collectively, on public health measures, said Dr. Mark Kaufman, chief medical officer for the Wisconsin Hospital Association, at a virtual meeting of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.  “We really know what works, we just need to do it and we all need to do it,” he said.  It’s a message that’s taken on greater urgency as Wisconsin once again set records for new daily positive cases, deaths and hospitalizations on Tuesday. The surge, which began in September, came as the U.S. hit a record number of coronavirus hospitalizations Tuesday and surpassed 1 million new confirmed cases in just the first 10 days of November.  We must all wear masks, keep a social distance, avoid gathering particularly indoors, and frequently wash our hands, Kaufman said. Public health leaders have been delivering the same message since the pandemic began nine months ago, and Gov. Tony Evers, in an unusual prime-time speech Tuesday, urged Wisconsin residents to work together to fight the virus.  Wisconsin is near a point where hospitals are so overwhelmed they will not be able to save the lives of people who come in to be treated, said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, the state’s chief medical officer, during a separate Wisconsin Health News panel Wednesday.

Eric Borgerding, president of the Wisconsin Hospital Association, said hospitals were stressed all across the state, with not enough staff to deal with the rising number of patients.  Public health departments are overwhelmed and unable to do adequate contact tracing, said Kirsten Johnson, director of the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department in suburban Milwaukee.  Wisconsin is doing much worse than its peers and is not flattening the curve, Kaufman said.  One of the main reasons Wisconsin is behind, he and those on the Wisconsin Health News panel said, is inconsistent messaging from leaders. Tim Sheehy, the president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, said he was “perplexed” with the lack of consistency in messaging and with people not acting with concern over the rising case numbers.  He and the other health leaders all said the consistency of messaging was vital to getting the virus under control.  Despite the worsening situation, the health care leaders all expressed hope about the availability of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year. However, they also cautioned that it will take months before a vaccine is widely available and people can’t let their guard down while waiting.

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