Wisconsin's Chief Medical Officer for Communicable Diseases Says Social Distancing is Working
Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 -- 10:21 AM
(AP) -Wisconsin’s chief medical officer for communicable diseases said Monday that efforts to stay at home are helping to slow the growth of cases of the coronavirus in the state.“What we’re doing is working,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard during a conference call. He said the state is seeing a slowing in the increase in cases, but the next two weeks will be critical. Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm said she doesn’t expect the state to hit a peak in cases for 10 days or more. Westergaard said lives had already been saved thanks to Gov. Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order.
“It could be a lot worse,” Westergaard said. Evers said the state is preparing field hospitals and voluntary isolation centers in anticipation of the expected surge in coming days. As of Monday, there were 20 deaths in the state due to the virus and more than 1,200 confirmed cases, according to state and local health officials. Governor Evers also asked for a Presidential Disaster Declaration.
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