% >> AT THE SAME TIME, MILWAUKEE
% IS WORKING ON IMPLEMENTING ITS
% OWN FACE MASK REQUIREMENT.
% HEALTH SECRETARY-DESIGNEE ANDREA
% PALM IS HELPING MANAGE THE
% CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE IN
% WISCONSIN, AS WE EXPERIENCE THE
% BIGGEST SURGE TO DATE.
% AND ANDREA PALM JOINS US THIS
% WEEK.
% THANKS VERY MUCH FOR DOING SO.
% >> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
% >> SO REPORTING THIS WEEK SHOWED
% THAT WISCONSIN'S COVID-19
% REPRODUCTION RATE IS THE WORST
% IN THE NATION.
% WHAT SHOULD WE MAKE OF THAT?
% >> SO I THINK WE -- WE HAVE HAD
% THE GOOD FORTUNE HERE IN
% WISCONSIN OF WATCHING, BOTH NOW
% AND WHEN IT FIRST ARRIVED HERE
% IN THE STATES, OTHER STATES WHO
% HAVE BEEN SORT OF ON THE LEADING
% EDGE OF THIS, AND SO I THINK AS
% WE SEE OUR REPRODUCTION NUMBER
% AND OUR SURGE HAPPENING HERE IN
% WISCONSIN, WE NEED TO TAKE NOTE
% OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING AROUND THE
% COUNTRY AND DO WHAT WE NEED TO
% DO AS A STATE TO PULL BACK
% TOGETHER TO STOP THE SPREAD, TO
% REDUCE OUR SURGE FROM BECOMING
% WORSE SO THAT WE DON'T GET
% OURSELVES IN A PLACE WHERE WE
% LOOK LIKE SOME OF OUR
% NEIGHBORING AND OTHER STATES
% AROUND THE COUNTRY.
% >> SO OUR NUMBERS HAVE DOUBLED
% IN THE PAST SIX WEEKS.
% WHAT HAVE CONTACT TRACERS BEEN
% ABLE TO SHOW YOU AND OTHER
% PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS ABOUT
% WHERE THOSE CASES ARE COMING
% FROM?
% >> SO I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE
% OF THINGS WORTH NOTING IN THE
% DATA WE'RE SEEING FROM OUR
% CONTACT TRACERS.
% ONE IS WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE
% AND AROUND THE COUNTRY IS THAT
% THERE IS A LARGE UPTICK IN OUR
% 20 SOMETHINGS WHO ARE BECOMING
% INFECTED WITH COVID-19.
% AND THEN, SECONDLY, OUR SURGE IS
% ALSO BEING DRIVEN BY MASS
% GATHERINGS, BY, YOU KNOW,
% EVERYTHING FROM BBQS AND BARS
% AND RESTAURANTS AND OTHER TYPES
% OF EVENTS WHERE PEOPLE ARE NOT
% SOCIAL DISTANCING, NOT WEARING
% MASKS AND ARE IN LARGE GROUPS
% THAT HELP REDUCE OUR ABILITY TO
% REALLY DO GOOD CONTACT TRACING,
% GET TO THE ROOT OF IT AND STOP
% THE SPREAD.
% >> SO MASS GATHERINGS LIKE OVER
% THE 4TH OF JULY, FOR EXAMPLE,
% WHERE WE SAW LARGE CROWDS IN THE
% WISCONSIN DELLS AT THE
% WATERPARKS, WHEN WILL ANY
% POSITIVE CASES FROM LAST
% WEEKEND'S KIND OF MASS
% GATHERINGS SHOW UP?
% >> YOU KNOW, SO AS WE'VE LEARNED
% MANY THINGS THROUGHOUT THIS
% PANDEMIC, ONE OF THE THINGS WE
% KNOW ABOUT THIS VIRUS IS SYMPTOM
% ONSET IS ANYWHERE FROM A FEW
% DAYS TO 14 DAYS, AND SO WE
% CERTAINLY COULD START TO SEE
% CASES FROM MASS GATHERINGS THAT
% HAPPENED OVER THE WEEKEND, YOU
% KNOW, LATE THIS WEEK, BUT WHAT I
% THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT
% FOLKS WHO WERE AT MASS
% GATHERINGS SHOULD TAKE THE STEPS
% TO PROTECT THEMSELVES, TO
% PROTECT OTHERS, SELF-ISOLATE,
% MONITOR FOR SYMPTOMS, GET A
% TEST, TALK TO YOUR HEALTH CARE
% PROVIDER IF YOU HAVE EVEN THE
% MILDEST SYMPTOMS.
% BUT MAKE SURE IF YOU WERE AT A
% GATHERING THAT YOU TAKE THE
% NECESSARY STEPS TO PROTECT
% YOURSELF AND THOSE IN YOUR
% COMMUNITY FROM THE SPREAD OF
% COVID-19.
% >> HAVE WE SEEN EVIDENCE THAT
% ANY OF THE MASS GATHERINGS BY
% WAY OF RACIAL JUSTICE PROTESTS
% CAUSED AN INCREASE IN CASES?
% >> SO, AS YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE
% THINGS YOU GET IN A CONTACT
% TRACING INTERVIEW IS INFORMATION
% ABOUT WHERE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN.
% AND SO MASS GATHERINGS, AS I
% MENTIONED, IS A DRIVER IN OUR
% SURGE RIGHT NOW.
% BUT THE BULK OF WHAT WE'RE
% SEEING IN OUR DATA IS NOT FROM
% THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED IN
% PROTESTS, BUT IN OTHER TYPES OF
% MASS GATHERINGS, HOUSE, PARTIES,
% BARS, RESTAURANTS, PLACES WHERE
% THERE WASN'T GOOD SOCIAL
% DISTANCING AND MASK-WEARING.
% BUT THE PROTESTS PARTICULARLY
% ARE NOT COMING UP IN GREAT
% NUMBERS IN THE DATA WE'RE
% GETTING FROM CONTACT TRACERS.
% >> AS YOU WELL KNOW, GOVERNOR
% EVERS JUST IMPOSED A MASK
% MANDATE FOR STATE EMPLOYEES
% INSIDE STATE BUILDINGS, AND HE
% WILL NOT REOPEN STATE BUILDINGS
% AS PLANNED.
% WOULD YOU, IF YOU COULD, IMPOSE
% A MASK MANDATE STATEWIDE?
% >> SO I THINK THE THING ABOUT
% MASKS, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A
% COUPLE OF THINGS I WOULD SAY.
% ONE, THE EVIDENCE AROUND THE USE
% THE MASKS AND THEIR
% EFFECTIVENESS AS A TOOL TO STOP
% THE SPREAD HAS REALLY DEVELOPED
% OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.
% AND SO WE ABSOLUTELY ARE
% STRONGLY ENCOURAGING FOLKS
% AROUND WISCONSIN TO PITCH IN AND
% WEAR A MASK AND HELP STOP THE
% SPREAD.
% I THINK AS IT RELATES TO STATE
% EMPLOYEES, AGAIN, WE ARE TRYING
% TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE, TO WALK THE
% WALK AND TO BE PART OF A
% SOLUTION STATEWIDE AS WE WORK
% WITH LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE
% TOOLS THAT THEY HAVE TO HELP
% REDUCE THE SPREAD THROUGH ORDERS
% AND ORDINANCES, ET CETERA, THAT
% THEY ARE ALL WORKING TO DO
% AROUND THE STATE.
% AND WE ARE TRYING TO BE PARTNERS
% WITH THEM IN THAT EFFORT.
% >> MEANWHILE, AS YOU ALSO WELL
% KNOW, TWO-THIRDS OF WISCONSIN
% COUNTIES ARE IN THE HIGH
% TRANSMISSION CATEGORY RIGHT NOW.
% WHAT IN YOUR EXPERT OPINION
% WOULD BE THE THRESHOLD FOR A
% DECLARATION OF A NEW STATEWIDE
% EMERGENCY?
% >> SO THIS DASHBOARD WAS
% INTENDED REALLY TO HELP PROVIDE
% SOME OF THAT KIND OF INFORMATION
% TO LOCALS AS THEY TRY TO
% UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING ON
% THE GROUND IN THEIR COMMUNITIES,
% RIGHT?
% IT'S ABOUT DISEASE ACTIVITY, THE
% TRAJECTORY THAT THAT DISEASE IS
% GOING, IS IT GETTING BETTER,
% HAVE WE NOT SEEN A SIGNIFICANT
% CHANGE, IS IT GETTING WORSE.
% IT REALLY HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND
% DIRECTIONALLY WHETHER THE THINGS
% WE ARE DOING ON THE GROUND THAT
% LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH AND THEIR
% LOCAL ELECTED, WHETHER IT'S
% HELPING US MOVE IN THE RIGHT
% DIRECTION.
% AND SO WE WOULD WANT TO LOOK AT
% ALL THAT KIND OF INFORMATION,
% HOSPITAL CAPACITY, HOW ARE THEY
% DOING, WHAT'S THEIR ICU, HOW ARE
% THEY LOOKING, TO MAKE DECISIONS
% LIKE THAT MOVING FORWARD.
% BUT, RIGHT, THIS IS THE
% DAY-TO-DAY KIND OF THING IN
% REALTIME THAT WE NEED TO BE
% WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH LOCAL
% PUBLIC HEALTH TO DO.
% >> ALL RIGHT.
% WE NEED TO LEAVE IT THERE.
% THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AND
% THANK FOR YOUR WORK,
% SECRETARY-DESIGNEE ANDREA PALM.
% >> THANK YOU SO MUCH.