Author: Sam Buisman
Governor Tony Evers announced a three-step plan to return to normal life in Wisconsin.
Published today, the Badger Bounce Back plan lays out three gradual phases of economic reopening that Wisconsin will progress through as COVID-19 cases decline. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services will determine when the state is ready to end the “Safer-At-Home” order and move to phase one and then to later phases based on trends in coronavirus cases and the state's capacity for testing and tracking.
Governor Evers promoted the plan and its underlying logic in a press release.
“This plan is an all-out attack on the virus,” said Governor Evers through the release, “and it begins the process of preparing our businesses and our workforce for the important planning that will result in the safe and logical reopening of our economy.”
Each of the plan's three phases gradually increases permitted economic activity and social gathering in the state. Phase one would allow gatherings of up to 10 people, restaurants to re-open under social distancing rules, and K-12 schools to resume classroom teaching. Phase two would raise social gatherings to 50 people and allow for full operation for restaurants, bars and non-essential businesses to re-open under social distancing rules, and secondary schools to resume classroom instruction. Phase three would allow all business and social activity to resume, albeit with unspecified protective measures in place for the public and at-risk groups.
The plan does not lay out a timetable for advancement to the next phase. Rather, the Department of Health Services will decide when the state is ready to move on based on its progress towards meeting certain goals. These goals include administering 12,000 daily COVID-19 tests, building systems to trace the transmission of the coronavirus, and observing a downward-trajectory of cases over a two-week period.
To this end, the Governor also announced a ramping up of coronavirus testing, based on additional involvement from the National Guard and private partners.
The plan specifies that the “Safer-At-Home” order is still in effect and that the Department of Health Services will announce when Wisconsin is ready to move to phase one.