MADISON (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus, which helps free up resources to respond to its growing threat. Meanwhile, the Capitol closed to formal tours until further notice and the state high school athletics association moved to drastically restrict attendance at remaining winter tournaments.
Evers said in a statement that the state needs to perform “extensive contract tracing” to contain the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Wisconsin has several confirmed cases, and Evers said 37 residents will be returning to the state from a Princess cruise ship where they may have been exposed to the virus.
Monroe Mayor Louis Armstrong sent an email March 12 canceling the St. Patrick’s Day Parade slated for Tuesday, March 17. Mark Pocan canceled his visit Monroe for a Town Hall meeting March 19, among other neighboring cities.
At press time, local schools, nursing homes and other facilities were announcing cancelations
Wisconsin health officials urged residents this week to avoid non-essential travel following confirmation that the two latest people in the state who tested positive for COVID-19 had recently visited areas where the coronavirus is more widespread.
The warning came as schools and universities headed into spring break season, when many students and families were planning to go on vacation.
Blackhawk Technical College, with Monroe and Janesville campuses, announced March 11 that it would suspend classes for Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17. There would be no student attendance and no requirement to be in online classes; all employees would continue to work.
BTC college faculty said they would solidify plans for coursework moving forward and would share plans via the college learning management system, Blackboard and Blackhawk email.
According to Blackhawk Technical College officials, effective Wednesday, March 18 through Friday, March 27, all face-to-face and lecture courses will moved online and told students that updates would be sent on Tuesday, March 17 via Blackboard and College email.
All Madison campus locations will remain open for essential support services during this time. Employees are expected to report for work but should take extra precautions based on social distancing guidelines as recommended by the CDC. Students are expected to minimize the time spent on campus. Click on Social Distancing Guidelines at Work from the Society for Human Resource Management for more information.
The Madison school district, Wisconsin’s second largest and located in Dane County, said March 11 it was banning out-of-state district-related travel for all staff and students. Also, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee announced it was extending its spring break to a second week, to run through March 29, and was planning to move most classes online once students return.
On March 10, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said UW-Madison was canceling and suspending all university-sponsored travel, including spring break trips, to countries severely affected by the virus.
Blank urged faculty, staff and students not to travel outside of Dane County during the school’s spring break.
Anyone returning to campus from an area that has a Level 3 travel warning from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will not be allowed to return to work at UW-Madison and must remain self-isolated for 14 days, even if they do not have symptoms, Blank said. Everyone returning from spring break outside of Madison are required to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days, she said.
At the Capitol, the state Department of Administration announced Thursday that it was canceling all formal tours of the state Capitol in Madison until further notice. The building remains open to the public, at least for now.
For most, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for a few, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illnesses, including pneumonia. More than 121,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 4,300 have died.
But the vast majority of people recover. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
-Emily Massingill contributed to this story.
