A lot of people are quite upset that Governor Tony Evers extended the Safer at Home Order until May 26th.
Manitowoc County Emergency Services Director Travis Waack spoke to SeehaferNews.com about the order and the public outcry. He explained “There were very legitimate reasons for [the extension]. I hear a lot of people with some discontent or frustration of ‘Why was it extended for such a long period of time?’ and ‘Can’t we open things?’ I get it. People are frustrated. People are hurting. The economy is hurting.”
Waack went on to explain that it was a good decision for three reasons. First is the ability to test. “We need to be able to make sure that as we open…we have a very robust testing capability in place,” Waack explained. He said the testing capacities are improving, but are not quite where they need to be.
As for the second part, that is making sure we have enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). “We need to make sure our EMS and hospitals have enough masks, face shields, and gowns, etc. to deal with the potential infection rate we might see when people start going out more.” Assisted living facilities are high on the list of places that need PPE as well.
The final part is obviously seeing a decline in the number of confirmed cases.
Waack explained that as people are still out and about right now they are continuing to spread the virus, and some are building up an immunity of sorts. Waack says that after another month of that natural spread, the community as a whole will have a higher rate of immunity.
Waack reiterated that the virus won’t be gone at the end of the month, but the community will be in a much better position to respond to it and contain it.
