MILWAUKEE — The City of Milwaukee is not ready to re-open bars and restaurants for dine in, according to Commissioner of Health Jeanette Kowalik.
In a City of Milwaukee Health Department Zoom meeting Friday, Commissioner Kowalik said the city is not ready to move phases or reopen restaurants.
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In order to see things reopen and the city move through the phases, the city must see a decrease in cases, more testing, less hospital related care and PPE needs, and more contact tracing.
According to the commissioner, these things did not happen this week. Each of these indicators gets a green light, yellow light, or red light based on how it's going. This week, two of the five were red with the other three being yellow.
“At this time, COVID-19 is spreading at an increased rate,” said Commissioner Kowalik. "We are concerned about congregation."
The city is currently in phase two of reopening. Once we see all five of the indicators yellow or green, we can move to phase three which includes some use of bars and restaurants.
In the meeting, Mayor Tom Barrett mentioned that Milwaukee county has the third highest number of cases per capita in the state of Wisconsin. Racine is in second.
“We have to take the steps necessary here to protect the public health,” said Mayor Barrett.
As of right now, those steps do not include reopening restaurants and bars for dining in.