Governor Tony Evers signaled on April 14 that it may be another month before he starts relaxing social distancing mandates.

The “Safer at Home” and school closure orders were issued on March 23, and are set to expire on April 24. Governor Evers told KSTP-TV that lifting the mandates would not be “like flipping a switch” and it could still be weeks before he started to roll back distancing mandates.

“I would fully expect another couple of weeks, or a month, before we are in a position to actually say we’re ahead of the curve here, and after that we can start thinking about how we can relax things,” Governor Evers said in the interview.

He wants to be sure more coronavirus testing is available, have a better tracking system of sick people, and acquire enough personal protective gear for health care workers before he will consider allowing businesses to open and easing social distancing restrictions.

Evers and other governors across the country are reviewing when to end the rules designed to prevent the spread of infection — amid President Donald Trump’s unfounded insistence that such decisions are his to make. Wisconsin’s restrictions mirror the regulations in other states, including neighboring Minnesota and Illinois, that require people to not leave their homes or interact with others unless absolutely necessary.

When asked about if Wisconsin schools would reopen this year, Governor Evers said that no final decision had been made yet but considering the situation it seems unlikely. As of April 14, the coronavirus had killed 170 people in Wisconsin and infected more than 3,500.

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Lee Matz

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