Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) announced Wednesday he would be extending the statewide mask mandate into 2021.
The original mask mandate was set to expire Saturday, but in a public address, Evers said the state of emergency will now end sometime in mid-January.
“I learned last week that the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that if we continue on the path we are on, Wisconsin could see 5,000 deaths by the end of this calendar year,” said Evers. “This is not something happening someplace else, to somebody else.”
While Evers has called on Wisconsin Republicans to support his measures in order to slow the spread of the virus, the Wisconsin Supreme Court is currently considering a lawsuit that challenges the mask mandates filed by conservative groups, WISN reports.
“As many of you also know, our current public health emergency and our face coverings order are being challenged in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Republicans in the legislature support this effort,” said Evers.”That’s why today I am also once again calling on Republicans to withdraw their support for this lawsuit and to publicly support our new public health emergency and face coverings order. It is time, folks. We do not get any do overs, here. Enough games. We need you to join the cause and we need you to start today.”
Wisconsin has so far reported 342,155 coronavirus cases and 2,867 deaths, according to data from the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention. On Nov. 12, the Badger State reported 8,451 cases, the most the state has reported in a single day since the pandemic began. Like many states in the Midwest, Wisconsin has seen a major increase in cases since colder weather has begun to set in.