PHMDC officials say new statewide order will not affect coronavirus restrictions in Dane Co.

October 7, 2020 10:04 AM

Logan Rude,

Posted: October 7, 2020 10:04 AM

by Logan Rude

MADISON, Wis. — Dane County health officials said Wednesday that Gov. Tony Evers’ new emergency order that limits indoor gatherings to 25% of a building’s capacity will not change how the county responds to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a statement from Public Health Madison & Dane County, Dane County’s local Emergency Order #9 is more restrictive than the recently signed emergency order from Evers’ administration.

Officials said the Dane County order requires businesses to implement written hygiene and cleaning measures in addition to requiring businesses to allow remote work when possible.

“We are encouraged to see a statewide order go into effect for Wisconsin, especially now when hospitalizations are increasing throughout most of the state,” PHMDC Director Janel Heinrich said. “Our contact tracing work has shown that COVID-19 isn’t contained within county borders, and we’ve seen transmission from people who live in Dane County but travel to places with fewer restrictions. Having more consistency across the state will help us get control of community spread happening both in Dane County and across Wisconsin.”

PHMDC officials did say that the local emergency order does allow for larger gatherings than the statewide emergency order, but officials said their additional rules make the local order more restrictive.

According to the statement, health officials plan to enforce local Emergency Order #9 as it’s written. The full order is available here.