It’s a joke at this point, right? The state of Wisconsin is an absolute, complete, and utter joke. Right?
Anyway, Gov. Tony Evers’ emergency health order that was put into place on October 6 and then temporarily blocked on October 14 and then put back into place on October 18 is…blocked again. Temporarily. For fuck’s sake. It’s not even funny anymore. It’s just…absurd? Ridiculous? Sad? Pathetic? Pathetic, yes. This entire godforsaken state is pathetic. Read our cheese curd review if you want to know how we really feel.
Friday’s reversal-of-a-reversal comes courtesy of a 2-1 ruling from a state appeals court. Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Evers’ order, the court said, have “shown a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits of an appeal.” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel further explains:
Friday’s decision temporarily bars the limits until the appeal has concluded. It came after an Amery bar and an anti-abortion group joined a lawsuit originally brought by a Sawyer County bar and the Tavern League of Wisconsin.
The Tavern League opted not to appeal the Barron County judge’s decision to reinstate Evers’ order after a Sawyer County judge temporarily barred it. But now Miki Jo’s Mix Up bar and Pro-Life Wisconsin are continuing the suit on appeal.
The on-again off-again on-again off-again order limits (or rather, limited) public gatherings to no more than 25 percent of a room or building’s total occupancy.” It applies (or rather, applied) to “any gatherings at locations that are open to the public such as stores, restaurants, and other businesses that allow public entry, as well as spaces with ticketed events.”
Milwaukee has long claimed its own “Moving Milwaukee Forward Safely” health order is more restrictive than Evers’ statewide order, thus making the city exempt. But recent rumblings from the mayor and health commissioner indicate a new, more restrictive city order will be announced next week.
In other news, Wisconsin “just saw the five deadliest days of the coronavirus pandemic so far.” Forty-two new deaths were reported on Friday. A total of 1,745 people have died.
Gov. Evers responded to Friday’s news on Twitter: “We will once again defend our limit on public gatherings and I’m once again asking folks to rise above tonight’s ruling, stay home, and mask up so we can get through this weekend and this pandemic together. This crisis is urgent, folks. Please stay home.”