- It's something that you would never expect to find in a city.
The sound of silence.
A surreal scene that's playing out across Wisconsin.
Bars, museums, performance venues all closed.
Savannah Bierma works part time
for Pabst Theater Group in Milwaukee.
They've canceled all events through May 15.
That means no work and no pay.
- [Bierma] I do not have paid sick leave.
I do not have paid time off.
For the most part, I live pretty much paycheck to paycheck.
I have a savings account but it's pretty minimal.
- [Freyberg] But help is on the way.
On Wednesday, Governor Tony Evers waived some requirements
to file for unemployment if an employee's company
shuts down due to COVID-19.
Also, the President signed an emergency measure
to provide up to 80 hours of sick leave
for some workers affected by the pandemic.
Wanda Lavender could use it.
She manages a Popeyes restaurant in Milwaukee.
She's stuck at home after her daughter came in contact
with someone who tested positive for the virus.
- [Wanda Lavender] It's bad enough they can't go to school,
but I also can't go to work.
So, with that being said, I'm kinda in a bad predicament.
- [Freyberg] One Wisconsin company brewed up
an ambitious plan to help its own employees.
Stone Creek Coffee closed all 13 of their locations Monday
but they plan to pay their employees in full
during the shutdown.
- [Pond] There's about 215 of us at Stone Creek, right now.
As a company we have committed to pay people
through this shutdown,
so we're trying to limit the economic impact on our people
because of course we all have to pay bills
in spite of the fact that the world's kinda coming
to a slow halt here, but we're trying to do everything we can
to minimize the impact on our people.