% REVENUE.
% >> DR. RYAN WESTERGAARD IS
% HELPING LEAD WISCONSIN'S
% RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC.
% THANKS FOR JOINING US THIS WEEK.
% >> I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE.
% >> SO WHAT IS THE SITUATION
% REPORTED IN WISCONSIN NOW IN
% TERMS OF SPIKES IN CASES?
% >> WELL, LIKE MANY AREAS OF THE
% COUNTRY, WE'RE SEEING A SURGE OR
% AN INCREASE IN CASES STATEWIDE
% COMPARED TO THIS TIME ABOUT TWO
% WEEKS AGO.
% OUR DAILY CASE COUNTS ARE ABOUT
% TWICE WHAT THEY WERE, SO 500 TO
% 600 NEW CASES PER DAY DURING
% THIS PAST WEEK.
% >> HOW ALARMING IS THAT?
% >> WELL, I THINK THE BIG PICTURE
% IS QUITE ALARMING.
% AS I'M SURE EVERYONE'S AWARE,
% THERE ARE AREAS OF THE COUNTRY
% THAT ARE SEEING LARGE, LARGE
% SURGES.
% THE SOUTHERN STATES, FLORIDA,
% ARIZONA AND TEXAS ARE SEEING
% PRETTY DRAMATIC INCREASES.
% OUR CURRENT IS GOING IN THE SAME
% BAD DIRECTION, AND IT SEEMS TO
% BE DRIVEN BY SOME OF THE SAME
% FACTORS, WHICH ARE AN INCREASE
% IN CLOSE CONTACT AT SOCIAL
% GATHERINGS, PARTICULARLY
% INDOORS.
% A LOT OF THE CLUSTERS THAT WE'RE
% DETECTING ARE DRIVEN BY CLOSE
% CONTACT IN SOCIAL GATHERINGS AND
% RESTAURANTS AND BARS AND SO
% FORTH.
% >> HOW CONCERNING IS THAT,
% CONSIDERING THAT UW-MADISON, FOR
% EXAMPLE, IS POISED TO REOPEN IN
% SOME FASHION TO IN-PERSON
% LEARNING?
% >> WELL, GIVEN WHAT WE'VE
% LEARNED ABOUT WHAT THE EPIDEMIC
% CAN DO, WHAT THE VIRUS CAN DO IN
% A POPULATION, I WOULD SAY IT'S
% VERY CONCERNING THAT WE ARE ON
% CLEARLY THE WRONG TRACK.
% IF THE VIRUS CONTINUES TO
% SPREAD, IF THE LEVEL OF -- IF
% THE LEVEL OF NEW CASES CONTINUES
% AT THE PACE THAT IT'S ON AND
% STARTS TO REFLECT SOME OF THE
% OTHER AREAS OF THE COUNTRY THAT
% ARE BURNING QUITE HOT IN TERMS
% OF NEW CASES, IT'S GOING TO
% TRANSLATE TO A LOT OF CASES AND
% A LOT OF BURDEN ON OUR
% HOSPITALS.
% I THINK THE GOOD NEWS OR THE
% REASON FOR OPTIMISM IS THAT THE
% OTHER THINGS WE'VE LEARNED IS
% THAT THIS IS A RELATIVELY
% SHORT-LIVED INFECTION.
% WHEN PEOPLE BECOME INFECTED,
% THEY DON'T STAY INFECTED FOR A
% LONG TIME, WITHIN A COUPLE
% WEEKS.
% SO WE DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO
% SHUT DOWN THESE TRANSMISSION
% CHAINS, AND EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT
% THERE'S THINGS WE CAN DO.
% SO PHYSICAL DISTANCING AND
% WEARING MASKS IN PUBLIC, IF WE
% DID THIS AT A HIGH LEVEL, WE
% COULD TURN THE CORNER ON THIS
% RELATIVELY QUICKLY.
% >> PEOPLE MIGHT WONDER WHY
% WISCONSIN DOES NOT IMPOSE
% MANDATE FOR PEOPLE TO WEAR
% MASKS, AS OTHER STATES HAVE
% DONE.
% >> WELL, THAT'S A GREAT
% QUESTION.
% THE EVIDENCE HAS BECOME QUITE
% STRONG -- AND THIS IS A CHANGE
% FROM JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO,
% WHERE WE WERE DASHED WITH A LOT
% OF CONFIDENCE THAT MASKS
% PREVENTS TRANSMISSION IN HEALTH
% CARE SETTINGS.
% WE DIDN'T KNOW MASK WEARING BY
% THE GENERAL PUBLIC WOULD REALLY
% HAVE AN IMPACT ON TRANSMISSION
% IN THE COMMUNITY.
% WE NOW KNOW THAT IT DOES.
% RECENT STUDIES WITH LARGE
% NUMBERS OF PATIENTS IN A LARGE
% NUMBER OF COUNTRIES HAVE GIVEN
% US CERTAINTY THAT WEARING MASKS
% PREVENT PEOPLE FROM BECOMING
% INFECTED AND SPREADING THE
% INFECTION TO OTHER PEOPLE.
% MY PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE IS IT'S
% NOT CLEAR TO ME THAT RULES AND
% LAWS ARE THE BEST WAYS TO
% ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO WEAR MASKS.
% AS WE'VE SEEN, THERE'S A LOT OF
% POLARIZATION ABOUT OPINIONS
% RELATING TO MASK-WEARING, SO MY
% VIEW AS A PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERT,
% WHO CARES ABOUT IMPROVING HEALTH
% BEHAVIOR FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND
% NOT IN THE ARENA OF GOVERNMENT
% AND LAWS, WE NEED TO EDUCATE
% PEOPLE THAT THE SCIENCE IS IN
% THAT MASKS ARE ONE OF THE MOST
% EFFECTIVE WAYS TO PREVENT THE
% SPREAD OF TRANSMISSION.
% PEOPLE SHOULD WEAR A MASK NOT
% BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO GET A
% TICKET OR ARRESTED IF THEY
% DON'T, BUT BECAUSE IT'S THE MOST
% IMPORTANT THING WE CAN DO TO
% STAY SAFE AND KEEP OUR FAMILIES
% SAFE.
% >> IT SEEMS FROM EVERYONE NOW
% FROM PUBLIC HEALTH ON UP, EVEN
% TO NATIONAL POLITICAL FIGURES
% AND OFFICIALS, ARE SAYING TO
% WEAR A MASK, AND YET IT IS SO
% COMMON STILL TO PEOPLE NOT
% WEARING MASKS WHEN THEY'RE OUT
% AND ABOUT.
% I MEAN, AS THE PUBLIC HEALTH
% OFFICIAL IN THE STATE OF
% WISCONSIN DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE
% GOING UP TO THOSE PEOPLE AND
% WAGGING YOUR FINGER AT THEM AND
% TELLING THEM HOW IMPORTANT THAT
% IS?
% >> NO.
% I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY THE WRONG
% APPROACH.
% I THINK THE APPROACH IS TO
% EDUCATE AND EMPOWER.
% WE HAVE SCIENCE ON OUR SIDE.
% WE HAVE HARD EVIDENCE THAT THE
% RISK OF TRANSMISSION GOES DOWN
% DRAMATICALLY WHEN PEOPLE WEAR
% MASKS.
% I'M OPTIMISTIC.
% I THINK IT'S A MATTER OF TIME
% WHERE THAT KNOWLEDGE WILL BE
% SEEN AS A SOURCE OF STRENGTH AND
% A POSITIVE OF THING.
% I THINK PEOPLE WAGGING THEIR
% FINGERS AT EACH OTHER IS
% ENTIRELY THE WRONG APPROACH.
% BUT THE FACT WE HAVE SCIENCE ON
% OUR SIDE GIVES ME HOPE, AND I
% ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO SHARE THAT
% SAME VIEW WHEN YOU'RE
% COMMUNICATING WITH COLLEAGUES
% AND FRIEND AND FAMILY MEMBERS.
% IT'S NOT RIGHT OR WRONG.
% IT'S OBJECTIVELY AN EFFECTIVE
% WAY TO KEEP OURSELVES SAFE.
% >> WE TOUCHED ON THIS A LITTLE
% BIT, BUT AS BUSINESSES AND
% SCHOOLS REOPEN OR PREPARE TO
% REOPEN, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE
% TREPIDATION ABOUT THAT.
% SHOULD THEY?
% >> YEAH.
% I THINK THERE'S, AGAIN, A LOT OF
% THINGS WE'VE LEARNED ABOUT HOW
% TO DO OUR ACTIVITIES SAFELY.
% AND SENDING KIDS TO SCHOOL IS AN
% ESSENTIAL ACTIVITY, JUST AS WE
% TALKED ABOUT GOING TO GET FOOD
% AND GROCERIES IS AN ESSENTIAL
% ACTIVITY.
% IF SCHOOLS INVOLVE A LOT OF
% CHILDREN IN CLOSE CONTACT, IT'S
% A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT TO DO
% THIS SAFELY.
% BUT, AGAIN, THE SCIENCE THAT
% WE'RE SEEING ABOUT THE
% EFFECTIVENESS OF MASK-WEARING
% AND THE IMPORTANCE OF
% DISTANCING, TWO METERS, ONE
% METER, EVEN THREE TO SIX FEET
% SEEMS TO CUT DOWN TRANSMISSION
% QUITE A BIT.
% SO WE'RE BENEFITING FROM HAVING
% SOME TIME, A LOT OF SCIENCE
% BEING GENERATED ON HOW TO DO
% THESE ESSENTIAL THINGS SAFELY.
% FRANKLY, I'M OPTIMISTIC THAT
% WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO
% SCHOOLS AND GATHERINGS SAFELY IN
% THE FALL.
% WE JUST HAVE TO ADHERE TO THESE
% EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGIES THAT
% WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT.
% >> WE'RE COMING INTO A BUSY
% HOLIDAY WEEKEND.
% WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO PEOPLE
% IN WISCONSIN?
% >> THE MESSAGE IS TO STAY SAFE.
% KEEP YOURSELF SAFE AND OTHERS IN
% YOUR COMMUNITY SAFE.
% AND, AS WE'VE SAID, THERE'S
% SIMPLE, EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES THAT
% PEOPLE CAN DO TO STAY SAFE.
% IF WE'RE GOING TO GET TOGETHER,
% OUTSIDE IS BETTER THAN INSIDE.
% IN ALL SETTINGS, PHYSICAL
% DISTANCE OF AT LEAST SIX FEET IS
% CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
% AND WE CAN WEAR MASKS.
% THEY'RE SIMPLE TO TAKE ON AND
% OFF.
% YOU CAN BREATHE JUST FINE WITH
% THEM.
% THE CLOSER WE CAN GET TO
% MASK-WEARING BEING THE NEW
% NORMAL, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A
% LOT OF BENEFICIAL EFFECT IN THE
% FALL WHEN VIRUSES START
% SPREADING MORE QUICKLY.
% >> DR. RYAN WESTERGAARD, THANK
% YOU FOR CHECKING IN WITH US.