On April 19th, approximately 1000 protestors lined up shoulder-to-shoulder in Brookfield to protest Governor Tony Evers’ extension of Wisconsin’s Safer at Home Order, advocating for re-opening the state. Another similar protest is planned for this Friday in Madison.
The governor’s extension, issued April 16th, keeps nonessential businesses closed until May 26th, prohibits “all public and private gatherings of any number of people that are not part of a single household or living unit,” and discourages unnecessary travel.
A variety of individuals, businesses and government officials are pushing back. With all of the potential violations of the safer at home order—both large and small—beg the question of how the order is meant to be enforced. What penalties could violators face and who would mete them out?
The order itself contains one paragraph regarding enforcement, which reads, “This Order is enforceable by any local law enforcement official, including county sheriffs. Violation or obstruction of this Order is punishable by up to 30 days imprisonment, or up to $250 fine, or both.”
It also specifies that the order supersedes any local orders that are in conflict with it.
So it is within the rights of local police and sheriff’s department officers to dole out the above penalties to anyone violating or obstructing the order. But crucially, that is dependent on if the law enforcement officials choose to do so.
Racine Sheriff Christopher Schmaling has said that his department will not be enforcing the order and that enforcement of the health-related measures can be left up to health experts.
In his public statement, Schmaling said, “I took an oath to uphold the constitutional rights of our citizens, and I cannot in good faith participate in the destruction of Racine County businesses or interfere in the freedoms granted to all of us by our Constitution.”
He urged Racine citizens to continue following the health guidelines, including social distancing, mask-wearing, hand-washing, etc., but made it clear that “[The Sheriff’s Department] will leave the enforcement of public health orders to the health department experts.”
Other law enforcement officials, including Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales to the north and Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth to the south have said the opposite – that they will be enforcing the order where necessary.
Morales has said that as the weather gets warmer, it will likely become more difficult to enforce the order as more people head outside, which will present further challenges, especially if there is another extension of the order after May 26th.
Meanwhile, in Washington County, Josh Schoemann, who was sworn in as the County Executive on April 21st, unveiled a “Blueprint for Reopening Washington and Ozaukee Counties” alongside Washington Ozaukee Public Health Officer Kirsten Johnson. The week before, while serving as County Administrator, Schoemann re-opened golf courses and multi-use trails in Washington County, days in advance of the governor’s new order allowing golf courses to open Thursday, April 23rd.
The new blueprint lays out four indicators that the counties must reach in order to fully re-open. According to the blueprint, the counties have already met two of these indicators: hospital capacity and operations returning to “near normal,” and reaching the capacity to contact trace COVID-19 cases for everyone who has tested positive within 24 to 48 hours. Two criteria have not been met: 14 or more days of continuous decrease in statewide case counts and a decrease in hospitalization, and enough testing capacity to test all those requiring a test.
In a meeting with the Washington and Ozaukee County Board on April 21st, Schoemann spoke about the blueprint.
“[The Blueprint] is intended to thread a needle between the president’s plan, which is very generic across the entire country … and the governor’s plan which is locking down an entire state carte blanche blanket approach, and instead saying [Washington and Ozaukee County have] got a handle on things. You just heard we’ve got two of our four criteria already met. My intent is the minute we get to achieving the other two, we begin to talk about how these other things are going to open. If we live under the order as it exists now, that’s extraordinarily difficult. We need to have flexibility, and we need to give people hope, and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish with this plan.”
Attempts to reopen extend across the state, including from The Tavern League of Wisconsin, which is calling for the opening of bars and restaurants by May 1st. They have proposed a “Safe at Work” plan which would require employees to wears masks and gloves, separate tables by six feet, reduce capacity by 50%, eliminate paper menus, table condiments, and buffets, and enforce social distancing regulations.
In a statement to Wisconsin legislators, the league president Chris Marsicano said, “On May 26th, when the current Stay at Home Order ends, the challenges facing Wisconsin in fighting the coronavirus will essentially be the same as they are today, with no vaccine available. According to experts, a vaccine will not be widely available for 12 to 18 months. Wisconsinites cannot live under a Stay at Home Order for the next 12 to 18 months.”
In Wauwatosa Jackson’s Blue Ribbon Pub owner Dan Zierath has already announced his intention to reopen on May 1st, regardless of any decisions from the Governor or legislature.
He plans to institute similar safety measures to what the Tavern League laid out, including hand sanitizer by the doors, only filling to under 50% capacity, servers wearing masks and gloves, tables seven to eight feet apart from each other, and sanitizing the bar multiple times a day.
Zierath told Fox 6 News that he is “not doing this for any economic gain. It’s just to make a statement that it’s time to open up our state.”
