Author: Wisconsin Public Radio

The world has been hit with an unprecedented health care crisis not seen since the flu pandemic of 1918 and an economic challenge comparable to the Great Depression. In Wisconsin, Milwaukee was hit the hardest with COVID-19 early on. With cases doubling less than every three days. Over time, Milwaukee has stretched that to more than 18 days whereas the rest of the state is seeing faster growth in their infection rates, and doubling times of about 14 days. “We have a lot of evidence we’ve at least hit an equilibrium with COVID-19 here in Milwaukee,” said Dr. John...

The state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund could run out of money by October if unemployment claims keep coming in at the current rate, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced on May 7. The fund had fewer than $1.9 billion remaining as of Wednesday, according to a news release from the agency. With more than 300,000 claims filed weekly, DWD said it is experiencing “unprecedented claim volume.” That number is “incredibly high,” said Dr. Laura Dresser, associate director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison think-tank COWS. If the fund runs out of money, the state will need to borrow...

A strong majority of Wisconsin residents continue to support the decision by Governor Tony Evers to close businesses and schools to slow the spread of COVID-19, according to the latest poll numbers from Marquette University Law School. But approval for those restrictions slipped over the past month, driven largely by a drop in support among Republicans. Marquette interviewed 811 registered voters from May 3-7. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The poll found that 69 percent of voters said it was appropriate to close schools and businesses and restrict public gatherings....

Chef Tyler Sailsbery, owner of The Black Sheep restaurant in Whitewater, is worried about how many chefs will want to continue after the coronavirus pandemic ends. Things were tough in the industry before the outbreak happened, and when the outbreak began to hit Wisconsin, he watched his sales tumble 70 percent. Sailsbery loves local food, cooking for the community and working with his team, but he’s questioned whether the intense hours and thin profit margins are worth it. Every day is a challenge, especially during these times, yet he’s managed to hold on to 22 staff members, and make...

“The mask is a beautiful metaphor. I don’t wear a mask to protect myself, I have wear a mask to protect you, and you wear a mask to protect me. That’s community at its best. That’s citizenship at its best.” – Governor Andrew M. Cuomo New data shows Wisconsinites might be growing less compliant with social distancing measures meant to slow the spread of COVID-19. But public health researchers say “quarantine fatigue” is not a reason to give up on the restrictions. Song Gao, a geography professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been aggregating cell phone data that...