Statement from
County Executive Josh Schoemann
There was some confusion regarding the health department
website, and an e-mail address for managing inquiries and complaints related to
the mask mandate. Our County Executive
put out a statement about it. In short, “Washington
County is not enforcing the mandatory mask mandate.”
Washington County is not enforcing the mandatory mask
mandate. Sheriff Schulteis has made this clear from his law enforcement
perspective, District Attorney Bensen has said it is extremely difficult to
prove and Public Health Officer Johnson has made clear that the health
department does not have the time or the resources to pursue any complaints.
The health department will not be investigating reported mask mandate
violations.
Complainers have inundated the health department with calls and emails. The health department's job is to assist the public to get tested and assist businesses and organizations in mitigating outbreaks or hotspots. Please stop complaining to them and wasting their time, so that they can do their important work of contact tracing, test monitoring and helping businesses and schools to stay open.
Separating these email inboxes ensures the unhelpful complaints do not clutter the real work of the department.
These frivolous complaints, and all mask mandate complaints, are not going to be responded to by the health department. Please do not call the health department to complain or spam the dedicated COVID 19 questions email. Do not waste law enforcement time and resources with these pointless calls or emails. Do not pester the District Attorney's office, they have real criminal cases to prosecute. Complaining about your neighbors or businesses slows the COVID-19 response and is not helpful.
Wearing a mask is the polite and responsible thing to do; the citizens of Washington County are capable of making their own decisions to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Complainers have inundated the health department with calls and emails. The health department's job is to assist the public to get tested and assist businesses and organizations in mitigating outbreaks or hotspots. Please stop complaining to them and wasting their time, so that they can do their important work of contact tracing, test monitoring and helping businesses and schools to stay open.
Separating these email inboxes ensures the unhelpful complaints do not clutter the real work of the department.
These frivolous complaints, and all mask mandate complaints, are not going to be responded to by the health department. Please do not call the health department to complain or spam the dedicated COVID 19 questions email. Do not waste law enforcement time and resources with these pointless calls or emails. Do not pester the District Attorney's office, they have real criminal cases to prosecute. Complaining about your neighbors or businesses slows the COVID-19 response and is not helpful.
Wearing a mask is the polite and responsible thing to do; the citizens of Washington County are capable of making their own decisions to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Government over-reach
from the Governor
Let’s be honest, this virus seems scary, and the news media
has certainly done its share to increase that sense of fear. I lost a former coworker two weeks ago due to
suicide, and in the last month I have had 2 constituents and 1 coworker mention
that a person they knew had committed suicide within the last month. In the entire rest of my life, I have never
know of this many suicides. In the
immortal words of Ronald Reagan said “In this present crisis, government is not
the solution to our problems; government is the problem.” Of
course, he was not speaking of covid-19, but his words seem fitting.
Our Governor has, in violation of the law, declared a state
of emergency for the second time, for the same emergency. To do this, he ramped up testing, creating
record levels of negative and positive tests, and then claimed the increase in
positive tests warrants the second declaration.
Besides mask mandates, this declaration if left unchallenged might permit
the governor to close all schools and even locking down our state again. Our economy cannot handle another lockdown,
and quite frankly it seems completely unnecessary given the small surge, if any
surge, that Wisconsin has seen in actual infection rates. Keep in mind, each of these actions will be
temporary, maybe 30 days, and then each will be extended, and extended again,
and then yet again. In May, we found out
that our Governor wanted to keep our state closed through February of 2021.
Washington County will be challenging the Governor’s illegal
and unconstitutional actions, which constitute a clear over-reach of the
authority of the executive branch.
Regarding the mask mandate, I don’t like government
mandating solutions. Many people,
including me, have issues that make wearing masks challenging. If I had to go into an environment where I
knew there were lots of vulnerable people, I would find a way to tough it out
and wear a mask for that time period, that’s the caring thing to do. I also make a point to actively avoid being
in those situations, which is also the caring thing to do. And, when I am out and about in the community, I make a point to social distance, which is also the caring thing to do. On the other hand, I reject the idea that,
simply because there is a 1 in 750 chance that any one of us might have covid, we
all have to wear masks everywhere we go and all day at work. Social distancing has done a lot to slow the
spread of this virus, and in most public settings that will usually be enough.
I am proud to report that last month, our County Board
unanimously approved resolution 17, which upheld our oath of office and our commitment
to upholding the constitution.
Challenging the governor’s overreach will be part of that commitment.
I also question the one-size-fits-all nature of a mask
mandate. Florence County still has only
7 cases, and a population of only 4,295 people.
That population is largely rural.
In contrast, Milwaukee County now has 20,637 cases, in part due to high
population and population density. Why
do these two counties need Madison-issued decrees that treat them exactly
identical? The one-size-fits-all
approach shows a lack of common sense.
These issues should be handled locally, as each County has its own unique
situation.
Quick facts about
COVID-19
Per the state DHS website, as of yesterday (8/7/2020):
Children
·
Nobody under the age of 20 in Wisconsin has died
of COVID. Not one child.
·
Only 135 of confirmed cases are people under the
age of 20.
·
For people under the age of 20 who test
positive, less than 2% ever need hospitalization.
Active cases
·
Active cases 9,534 (in a state of roughly 6
million people).
Deaths
·
96% of people who died from covid were over the
age of 50.
·
88% of people who died from covid were over the
age of 60.
·
At least 44% of those who have died lived in a long-term
care facility or group home. It is
possibly that this percentage is as high as 72%.
·
Lastly, a MacIver Instute review found that, of
383 covid deaths in Milwaukee County, 372 (97%) had other contributing health
conditions. In some cases, the death
certificates listed 6 other serious health conditions that contributed to the
death. https://www.maciverinstitute.com/2020/08/its-always-a-covid-19-death-in-milwaukee-county/
