The latest White House Coronavirus Task Force report is out and it is not good for Wisconsin and the fight against COVID-19.
The governor and other state leaders pleaded today for more people to act and help reverse the trend of increasing hospitalizations and positive COVID-19 cases.
That plea includes a call for people to wear face masks in public, social distance, keep trips to essential activities, work with contract tracers if they reach out to you, and to get tested and quarantine if you may have been exposed to the virus.
The task force's report stated community transmission is frequently occurring in smaller gatherings of family and friends where masking and social distancing recommendations are not followed.
On Thursday, three ambulances entered State Fair Park where the alternate care facility is located. However, state officials said at the time no patients are currently receiving care at the alternate care facility.
"As we have said and as we have been doing we're in very close contact with hospitals and are talking about them with where they stand today and how things are shaping up among their admissions and discharges and their workload what they’re saying in anticipation of what might happen tomorrow," said Health Secretary-Designee Andrea Palm.
The state's decision to activate the facility comes as Wisconsin continues to break records for positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
During a local media briefing, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett made it clear that spikes in hospitalizations remain centered on the Fox River Valley, but the Milwaukee area is not totally in the clear.
"Our local number is still manageable but it's still concerning," said Mayor Barrett.
Palm noted the average daily number of COVID-19 deaths in Wisconsin tripled over the last 6 weeks.
According to the White House task force report, Milwaukee, Brown, and Winnebago counties had the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in the last week.
With a judge putting a halt to the state’s latest emergency order limiting indoor public gatherings Governor Tony Evers said it is going to take more people working together, wearing face masks, and practicing social distancing to turn Wisconsin's trend around.
"Even the White House agrees. In this week's report for the state of Wisconsin they said this lack of compliance with these measures will lead to preventable deaths," said Governor Evers.
Evers also said that they plan to challenge the decision to overturn the emergency order limiting public gatherings.
Read the full report below: