Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers
MADISON, Wis. (FOX 9) - Wisconsin leaders are declaring a public health emergency in response to rising cases of the coronavirus in the Midwest and areas across the United States.
Governor Tony Evers says the declaration will allow health officials to "use all the resources necessary to respond to and contain the outbreak."
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HCMC doctors say COVID-19 outbreak going to put huge burden on health care providers
Dr. John Hick, the medical director for emergency preparedness for the Hennepin County Medical Center, said that, while we have seen pandemics before, this time is different and, despite the advantages of modern medicine, the outbreak will put a huge burden on health care providers.
This week, Wisconsin has had seven new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The two newest cases were confirmed in Dane County, Wis. Thursday. Both of the new cases had contact with the confirmed case from Dane County earlier in the week. Both patients are isolated at home.
The state also will have 37 residents returning from the Grand Princess cruise ship that was the site of a coronavirus outbreak. It's not clear if any of those cruise passengers have contracted the virus. However, the governor says they will need to be monitored in quarantine for the time being.
“We have been working aggressively to slow the spread of COVID-19, and this declaration allows us to get the resources we need to continue to be proactive when it comes to protecting Wisconsinites,” said Gov. Evers.
The newest coronavirus cases have been found in Piece, Dane, Fond du Lac, and Waukesha counties. The first case was also a resident in Dane County in late February.
In Minnesota, nine cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Olmsted, Ramsey and Stearns counties.