Despite Wednesday’s decision from the Wisconsin Supreme Court that kills Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide “Safer At Home” order (and possibly you), Milwaukee’s own stay-at-home order remains in effect. The separate order was issued in March by Commissioner of Health Jeanette Kowalik. It does not have an expiration date.
“The City of Milwaukee Health Department issued a public health order on March 25, 2020 to protect public health and reduce the spread of COVID-19,” said Mayor Tom Barrett in a statement released Wednesday evening. “That order remains in effect, including all provisions on public gatherings, restaurants, and bar operations.”
Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision concerns the legality of the statewide “Safer At Home” order only. It does not affect local orders. Milwaukee’s stay-at-home order was originally superseded by the state order. After Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision, however, it has gone back into effect.
Read the full order HERE.
Earlier on Wednesday, Barrett spoke about working with Milwaukee County’s Intergovernmental Cooperation Council to create a county-wide reopening strategy. According to BizTimes:
“We have not been wasting any time,” Barrett said. “And we’ve been working to have, ready to go, if necessary, a local order that would deal with the reopening of businesses. And that’s what our goal is—our goal is to reopen businesses but to reopen them in a safe fashion.”
Barrett cautioned against opening business too soon.
“If there was just a light switch, and we said the businesses are reopened, there’s absolutely no guarantee that people would have the confidence to go into businesses,” he said. “So we have to make sure that people not only are safe but they feel safe.”
