Wisconsin Gov. Slams Ruling That Overturns Stay-At-Home Order: We’ll Have More Deaths
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) on Wednesday warned that the state is now “in the Wild West” after the state Supreme Court blocked his bid to extend the statewide stay-at-home order aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
“At this point in time, there is no orders. There’s nothing that’s compelling people to do anything other than having chaos here,” Evers told MSNBC’s Ali Velshi. “We’re going to have more cases. We’re going to have more deaths, and it’s a sad occasion for the state.”
The governor said the “good progress” that residents had made during the lockdown, resulting in “one of the lowest numbers of cases per capita in the Midwest,” had been thrown “into chaos” by Wednesday’s 4-3 ruling of the conservative-controlled high court.
He also noted that following the ruling, the trade association Tavern League of Wisconsin told businesses in a statement and on its website that they could “OPEN IMMEDIATELY!”
People began to visit reopened bars immediately after the ruling, the Green Bay Press Gazette reported. However, some counties made the decision to reimpose the stay-at-home orders until later in the month.
Check out Evers’ MSNBC interview here:
Evers echoed his frustration and anger during another interview Wednesday with CNN’s Don Lemon. He warned that ending the lockdown will “cause us to have spikes” in cases of the deadly disease that’s killed more than 85,000 people nationwide.
“We were in a good place as a state. The people of Wisconsin are the ones that should be very upset,” Evers said, later adding, “We were doing a good job, that’s what’s so frustrating.”
One silver lining: Schools in the state will remain closed until fall.
“That’s the one thing they didn’t touch, and that’s a good thing,” he said.
The governor said it may take at least two weeks to agree on a plan for how to tackle the pandemic with the state’s GOP-controlled legislature, which brought the case to the Supreme Court, while many businesses are free to reopen as they wish.
The legislature had initially wanted to delay overturning the order for a week in order to get a plan in place, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, but the Supreme Court’s justices ruled that it should take immediate effect.
Check out that interview here:
"It's a bad day for Wisconsin."
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers tells CNN's @DonLemon that the state's Supreme Court decision to overturn his administration's stay-at-home order "puts our state into chaos." https://t.co/vgyCXPk4mM pic.twitter.com/13HYKOpnFV— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) May 14, 2020
On Twitter, Evers explained why he was “disappointed” with the ruling:
I am disappointed in this decision, but our top priority has been and will remain doing what we can and what we have to do to protect the health and safety of our state. After months of unproductive posturing, I hope the folks in the Legislature are ready to do the same.
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) May 14, 2020
And just because the Supreme Court says it’s okay to open, doesn’t mean that science does. We need everyone to continue doing their part to keep our families, our neighbors and our communities safe by continuing to stay safer at home, practice social distancing, and limit travel.
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) May 14, 2020
Up to now, we were in a pretty good place in our battle against #COVID19. We had reached almost all our gating criteria. We had opened up small businesses across the state, putting folks back to work, and that was because of the good work of Wisconsinites across our state.
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) May 14, 2020
A HuffPost Guide To Coronavirus
Stay up to date with our live blog as we cover the COVID-19 pandemic
7 essential pieces of relationship advice for couples in quarantine
What you need to know about face masks right now
How to tell if you need to start doing online therapy
Lost your job due to coronavirus? Here’s what you need to know.
Parenting during the coronavirus crisis?
What coronavirus questions are on your mind right now? We want to help you find answers.
Everyone deserves accurate information about COVID-19. Support journalism without a paywall — and keep it free for everyone — by becoming a HuffPost member today.
Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.
Related...
Fox News Hosts Freak Out Over Anthony Fauci's Coronavirus Lockdown Warning
Jimmy Kimmel Points Out Fox News' Most Obvious Hypocrisy About Coronavirus
Anderson Cooper: Donald Trump's Latest Coronavirus Ploy Is 1 Of His Most Offensive Yet
Also on HuffPost
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.