Author: Sam Buisman

Governor Tony Evers clears the State Fair Park alternative care facility to begin accepting COVID-19 patients.

The Governor ordered the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to begin operations at the makeshift hospital facility converted from the Exposition Center at the State Fair Park. Any Wisconsin hospital that has reached 80% of its clinical capacity will be able to transfer COVID-19 patients to this facility.

Commenting on the opening, Governor Evers promised that the facility would help shoulder the burden of COVID-19 with Wisconsin's existing hospital system.

“The AFC will soon provide an additional tool to the SE Wisconsin region to expand the continuum of care for individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19,” said the Governor through a press release.

By order of the Governor, the Army Corps of Engineers and other private partners began converting the 200,000 square-foot Exposition Center into a makeshift medical ward on April 9. Madison's Alliant Energy Center is also being converted into such a facility, although it is not yet ready to receive patients.

The order notes that the State Fair Park will stop receiving patients and return to its original state at the Department of Health Service's discretion.