% THIS WEEK, GOVERNOR TONY EVERS'
% ADMINISTRATION GAVE UP
% THE QUEST FOR ANY NEW STATEWIDE
% EMERGENCY RULES TO MANAGE
% COVID-19 IN WISCONSIN.
% EVERS SAYS REPUBLICANS
% EMBOLDENED BY A STATE SUPREME
% COURT DECISION ERASING HIS STAY
% AT HOME ORDER WOULD NEVER HAVE
% ALLOWED ANY SUCH RESTRICTIONS.
% I TALKED WITH GOVERNOR EVERS
% EARLIER TODAY, AS WE HEAD INTO
% THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND.
% AND, GOVERNOR, THANKS VERY
% MUCH FOR JOINING US.
% >> THANKS, FREDERICA.
% >> WHY EARLIER THIS WEEK
% IN REALLY WHAT SEEMED
% LIKE A RATHER SUDDEN MOVE
% DID YOU WITHDRAW YOUR
% CORONAVIRUS RULE PLAN?
% >> WELL, THERE'S ONLY 24 HOURS
% IN A DAY AND ALL OF US ARE
% FOCUSED ON IMPORTANT THINGS LIKE
% GETTING SOME OF THIS CARE MONEY
% OUT TO FARMERS
% AND SMALL BUSINESS PEOPLE AND
% THE REPUBLICANS MADE IT CLEAR
% AND IT WASN'T LIKE A FIGHT.
% IT WAS A CLEAR THAT THEY DIDN'T
% WANT TO DO ANYTHING THAT
% WOULD RESTRICT, DO ANYTHING
% ABOUT RESTRICTING ANYTHING
% AND THEY WANTED--
% THEY DIDN'T WANT
% A STATEWIDE PLAN.
% THEY WANTED A LOCAL PLAN.
% SO, INSTEAD OF FIGHTING UPSTREAM
% AGAINST SOMETHING THAT
% WAS JUST NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN,
% WE'RE GOING TO BE CONTINUING TO
% FOCUS ON THE THINGS THAT
% ARE IMPORTANT LIKE TESTING
% AND TRACING AND GETTING THE
% RIGHT EQUIPMENT, GETTING MONEY
% OUT TO FARMERS, AND MAKING SURE
% THAT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES
% GET SOME GET SOME RESOURCES.
% THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO FOCUS ON.
% AND SO, IT JUST WASN'T WORTH
% THE TIME.
% >> WAS IT A MARKER THAT PARTISAN
% POLITICS HAVE GOTTEN
% THE BETTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH?
% >> WELL, IT GOT--
% IT SET A MARKER IN SAYING THAT
% THERE WILL BE NEVER ANY
% RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT MIGHT BE
% A DANGEROUS SITUATION.
% YOU KNOW, IF WE IF WE DID
% HAVE A SECOND WAVE OR IF WE DID
% HAVE A SURGE, IT'S LIKELY
% AT SOME POINT TIME
% WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SAY,
% "WELL, YOU CAN ONLY HAVE
% 50 PEOPLE IN THIS SPACE
% RATHER THAN 500 PEOPLE
% IN THIS SPACE," BUT THAT JUST
% WASN'T GOING TO HAPPEN.
% SO, WE WILL DO THE THINGS
% WE CAN DO TO MAKE SURE
% THAT PEOPLE ARE SAFE.
% >> ARE COMMUNICATIONS STILL
% HAPPENING BETWEEN YOU
% AND THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP?
% >> SURE, WE'VE TALKED A COUPLE
% TIMES THIS WEEK, AND,
% YOU KNOW, TALKED ABOUT THINGS
% LIKE HOW SCHOOLS CAN OPEN UP
% AND MAKING SURE THAT YOU'RE
% TALKING ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY
% OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM.
% HOW WE CAN COMMUNICATE IF
% THERE IS A SURGE GOING FORWARD.
% SO, NO, WE ARE--
% IT'S JUST THE, FIRST OF ALL, THE
% RULE, THE IDEA THAT THERE WAS
% GONNA BE ANY GRAND BARGAIN ON
% THIS-- AND THE SUPREME COURT
% KIND OF SET THE STAGE--
% JUST WASN'T AN ACCURATE ONE.
% >> ON THURSDAY, YOU ALLOCATED
% ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS
% OUT OF THE FEDERAL CARES ACT
% MONEY TOWARD HELPING LONG-TERM
% CARE FACILITIES AND EMERGENCY
% MEDICAL SERVICES, BUT THAT CAME
% THE SAME DAY AS OUR NEXT GUEST
% IN THIS PROGRAM BLASTED YOU
% IN A LETTER FOR WHAT HE SAID
% WAS IGNORING NURSING HOMES.
% IS THAT HOW THIS INTERACTION
% THOUGH IS GOING, NOTWITHSTANDING
% SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS
% YOU SAY YOU'RE HAVING.
% >> WELL, APPARENTLY, WHAT THE
% DISCUSSION WE'RE HAVING WITH
% THE LEADERSHIP DIDN'T MAKE IT
% DOWN TO REPRESENTATIVE STEINEKE.
% CLEARLY, WE ALWAYS HAD PLANNED
% ONCE THE CARE MONEY CAME IN
% THAT WE'RE YOU KNOW THE
% LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES WERE
% THE ONES THAT REALLY DIDN'T
% GET ANY MONEY OR VERY LITTLE
% MONEY FROM THE PREVIOUS FEDERAL
% ALLOCATION SO THIS WAS GOING
% TO HAPPEN AND I KNOW HE MADE
% THE CLAIM THAT WE HADN'T REACHED
% OUT TO DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.
% WE HAVE CONSTANT CONVERSATIONS
% WITH PEOPLE IN THOSE
% LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES.
% HECK, WE'RE TRYING TO GET IN AND
% MAKE SURE EVERY ONE OF THOSE
% ARE TESTED SO, YOU KNOW,
% THAT COMMUNICATION DIDN'T HAPPEN
% FROM HIS LEADERSHIP TO HIM
% FOR SOME REASON.
% NOW, BY FAR, THE LARGEST
% ALLOCATION IN MY UNDERSTANDING
% WAS A BILLION DOLLARS THAT
% WISCONSIN ALLOCATED TO TESTING
% AND CONTACT TRACING.
% DESCRIBE WHY THOSE THINGS ARE
% SUCH A MAJOR FOCUS?
% >> ABSOLUTELY, WELL,
% THAT IS HOW,
% IF WE HAVE A SURGE AND OR IF
% THERE IS A SECOND WAVE, THIS IS
% HOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO
% CONTAIN THIS AND IT ALWAYS HAS
% BEEN THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
% THE MORE PEOPLE WE TEST, THE
% MORE PEOPLE WE CAN FIND OUT
% IF THEY'RE THEY ARE ILL
% AND GET THEM GIVE THEM ISOLATED
% AND GET THE PEOPLE THAT
% THEY'VE CONTACTED ISOLATED.
% AS WE DO THAT ACROSS THE STATE,
% WE START TO SLOWLY START TO
% MANAGE THIS SYSTEM SO IT'S
% ABSOLUTELY THE MOST IMPORTANT
% THING, IN ADDITION TO GETTING
% THE EQUIPMENT WE NEED.
% AND SO, WE'RE DOING-- WELL,
% I KNOW WE HIT, I THINK, 9,000,
% ALMOST 10,000 TESTS JUST TODAY
% AND WE WANT TO KEEP THAT UP.
% WE WANT TO DO 85,000 A WEEK
% AND AS WE DO THAT, WE'RE ABLE TO
% YOU KNOW MAKE IT LESS LIKELY
% THAT ANY SURGE WILL HAPPEN.
% >> PRESIDENT TRUMP, AS YOU WELL
% KNOW, GETS TESTED EVERY DAY
% AND HE TALKS ABOUT THAT.
% DO YOU, LIKEWISE, GET TESTED
% OR TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS?
% >> I TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS
% BECAUSE I'M ESSENTIALLY SELF-
% QUARANTINED AT THE EXECUTIVE
% RESIDENCE OR THE CAPITOL.
% THERE'S VERY FEW PEOPLE THAT
% INTERACT WITH ME AND THE PEOPLE
% THAT DO HAVE VERY FEW
% INTERACTIONS EITHER SO
% THERE'S NO ONE USE
% WASTING A TEST ON ME
% BECAUSE WE ARE-- MY WIFE AND I
% ARE ESSENTIALLY SELF-ISOLATING
% IN OUR LIVES RIGHT NOW.
% >> JUST VERY BRIEFLY,
% WITH ONLY ABOUT 30 SECONDS LEFT.
% WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MUCH OF
% THE STATE BEING REOPENED HEADING
% INTO THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND?
% >> YEAH, WELL,
% I'LL MAKE IT VERY CLEAR.
% ONE THING WE HAVE TO DO IS SPEND
% TIME REFLECTING UPON THOSE
% PEOPLE THAT NOT ONLY DIED
% IN THIS EPIDEMIC, BUT OBVIOUSLY,
% PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE,
% IN OUR ARMED SERVICES OVER TIME.
% THAT REFLECTION, I THINK, SHOULD
% GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO THINK
% ABOUT STAYING CLOSER TO HOME.
% I THINK IT IS GOING TO BE
% A LOT OF PEOPLE COMING IN FROM
% OUT OF STATE AND WE--
% I THINK, YOU KNOW, SOCIAL
% DISTANCING, DOING THE THINGS
% THAT WE NEED TO DO, AS FAR AS
% MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING
% THE HYGIENE.
% STAYING CLOSER TO HOME, I THINK,
% IS THE BEST RECOMMENDATION
% I HAVE, BUT MEMORIAL DAY
% IS ABOUT THAT REFLECTION
% AND SO HOPEFULLY PEOPLE
% WILL BE DOING THAT.
% >> ALL RIGHT, GOVERNOR
% TONY EVERS, THANKS AGAIN.
% >> THANKS A LOT, FREDERICA.
% TAKE CARE!