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COVID-19
The Associated Press

Wisconsin Gov. Evers: More deaths to come in the state from coronavirus

Tony Evers speaks at a news conference
Then-Gov.-elect Tony Evers speaks at a news conference in Madison, Wis., in December 2018. In a continued effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, Evers on Friday ordered all nail and hair salons, barbers, spas, tanning and tattoo parlors to be closed as of 5 p.m.
Steve Apps | Wisconsin State Journal via AP file

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Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers warned that more people in the state will die of the coronavirus and in a continued effort to slow its spread ordered all nail and hair salons, barbers, spas, tanning and tattoo parlors to be closed as of 5 p.m. Friday.

Evers and state health officials said all of the closure orders and pleas for people to remain at home and stay away from others were needed because there were not enough hospital beds and medical supplies to treat everyone who may get sick.

“Things will get worse before they get better,” Evers said on a conference call. “The fight against COVID-19 will not be easy.”

Health officials had no estimate of when the number of patients would outpace medical supplies and ICU beds.

“Our hope is that it never happens,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Wisconsin's chief medical officer for communicable diseases. “If it gets to that point, then we have to make really hard decisions about withdrawing care or not offering a ventilator."

Wisconsin logged its third death on Friday, after the first two were announced on Thursday. The deaths were a 66-year-old man in Milwaukee; a man in his 50s in Fond du Lac County; and a man in his 90s in Ozaukee County.

There were 206 confirmed cases in 29 counties in Wisconsin, up from 155 in 21 counties on Thursday.

For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm urged people to cancel all non-essential appointments, prepare for the health care system to be stressed and called for people to come together to check on neighbors, friends and the vulnerable to make sure they are protected.

“We will continue to ask more of you in the days and weeks ahead," Palm said. Wisconsin has 2,500 ICU hospital beds and 620 ventilators but those would not be enough for an expected surge, she said.

Evers said he believed Wisconsin could avoid being ordered to shelter in place as is being done in other parts of the country.

SSM Health said in a statement Friday that one of its doctors tested positive for the virus. The doctor was not showing symptoms during their last encounters with patients, but as symptoms developed the doctor self-quarantined and was tested, SSM Health said.

The Wisconsin State Journal reported Friday that a birth suites nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison said she was exposed to another worker at the hospital who later tested positive. SSM Health operates the hospital, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the doctor who tested positive was the same one the nurse said she had contact with.

Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa has said one of its doctors tested positive and a doctor at the maximum-security Waupun Correctional Institution also has the virus.

Also on Friday, the mayors of Green Bay, Appleton and Neenah joined together to object to holding the April 7 spring election and presidential primary, given concerns about spreading the virus. The mayors — two Republicans and one Democrat — said the election should be delayed so it could be conducted by mail-in ballot only.

Moving ahead with the election without any changes is a “logistical train wreck and a public health travesty," said Democratic Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission sent Evers a letter Friday asking for help with securing hand sanitizer and other resources for election officials; help recruiting poll workers; and access to public health officials who can create guidelines for those working at the polls.

Evers and legislative leaders have said they plan to proceed as scheduled, even though several other states delayed their spring elections.

“Moving this date is not going to solve the problem,” Evers said. “We could move it to June, it could be worse in June. It could be worse in May.”