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.