A victory for public health – Sen. Larson praises statewide mask order

Milwaukee, WI – “The people spoke, our Governor listened. Today, Governor Evers took bold action to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin by issuing a statewide face covering order. This practical, science-based approach will save lives, prevent undue stress on our healthcare system, and boost our economy. The vast majority of our Wisconsin neighbors support this decision.

“This week, my office began circulating a petition to gauge the level of support for a mask mandate. The response was overwhelming. As of Thursday morning, the petition had drawn over 16,000 signatures from every corner of Wisconsin, red districts and blue districts alike. In fact, once my district was excluded, Republican Senate Districts average more signatures than Democratic Districts. Four out of five signers are from outside Milwaukee with several hundred different municipalities represented.

“Governor Evers’ action will help Wisconsin reverse recent trends, which have seen confirmed COVID-19 cases climb to over 50,000, deaths to over 900, and has produced dozens of new hospitalizations each day. Given the severity of the pandemic and the statewide support for this order, I am hopeful that my Republican colleagues will forgo any further partisan legal challenges. Science shouldn’t be partisan: Wisconsinites want to be safe and want to prevent another shutdown.

“We didn’t need to be the 34th state to act in this fashion. The fact is, Republicans in the legislature could have reached across the aisle to get this done long ago. Like the Trump administration, Wisconsin Republicans have dropped the ball regarding the pandemic since the very beginning.

“Mandatory face coverings are a great first step but it will take every one of us, working together, to beat this disease and get back to doing the things we all love to do together. I want to thank each of the thousands of neighbors who signed our petition. Your voice was heard loud and clear and we encourage them to keep speaking out about the issues that matter most.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.