‘Safer at Home’ expected to curb COVID-19 cases

Tele-town hall addresses ways to prevent spreading infection, details on stimulus
By: 
Lee Pulaski
City Editor

Folks might not like having to stay at home to try and stem the coronavirus, but they probably would like it less if they turned out to be the 22,000 estimated to be infected if Gov. Tony Evers hadn’t issued his Safer at Home order.

That number is what Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm believes would be infected if the new normal had remained where it was a few days earlier. Of those 22,000, Palm believes anywhere from 440 to 1,500 of those people would die.

Palm announced the numbers during a tele-town hall Thursday morning hosted by U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher. She pointed out that there were more than 10,000 negative tests at the time for COVID-19, the new strain of coronavirus that has impacted most areas of the world, but Wednesday was the worst single-day jump for Wisconsin.

“Staying home is the best tool that we have to help stem the tide of COVID-19, to protect Wisconsinites and equally important to protect our health care workers, who need to be able to continue to work,” Palm said. “Without these actions, we really felt we were putting our citizens at further risk, and we would exceed the bed capacity in our health care system.”

She added that there are no medications or vaccines that can effectively combat COVID-19.

Palm said that staying at home does not necessarily mean social separation. She recommended conversing with friends and family by phone and through social media.

“We all know that humans are social creatures. We are not wired for social isolation,” Palm said. “Our ability to stay connected is important to our ability to stay healthy. We want to make sure people are reaching out in ways that allow physical separation but not social isolation.”

Gallagher acknowledged that there is a lot of misinformation about the coronavirus and what’s being done to combat it, which is why he has been hosting tele-town halls to get facts out.

“All of us Wisconsinites need to step up,” Gallagher said. “We’re being asked to do something very difficult, doing social distancing, but we can step up to stop the spread.”

Gallagher said Thursday that the U.S. House was expected to vote on the $2 trillion stimulus bill Friday after it passed through the U.S. Senate unanimously on Wednesday. The bill would provide $1,200 to each single adult and $2,400 to each couple, plus $500 per child for anyone making $75,000 or less. Those making between $75,000 and $99,000 will also receive money, but in a lesser amount.

Gallagher noted that the federal government would determine the amount to send out based on filed 2018 tax returns.

Funds will be available for hospitals and health care workers to help ramp up equipment production, which is sorely needed, he said.

“Make no mistake. This will not be the end of our efforts,” Gallagher said. “We need to continue to aggressively do all we can to help keep Americans safe.”

The Congressman noted that the lack of available medical equipment has brought to light that America is highly dependent on foreign countries for many of its supplies, especially masks.

“I believe, when the dust settles, we’re going to need to figure out a way to bring a lot of that manufacturing back to the United States,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher urged Wisconsinites to make sure, even though they’re socially isolated, that they’re checking on elderly neighbors and seeing if they’re all right.

“Maybe offer to grocery shop on their behalf to reduce their exposure,” Gallagher said.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com