Gov. Evers advises Wisconsinites to stay home, limit holiday gatherings to their households

Following a day when Wisconsin hit grim new records for new Covid-19 cases (7,073) and deaths (66), Gov. Tony Evers hosted a rare televised press conference urging Wisconsinites to stay at home.

Citing projections that show with no further action an additional 2,500 Wisconsin residents could die by Jan. 1., the governor announced an executive order advising residents to stay at home and limit their contact to people within their own household, suggesting that families hold virtual Thanksgiving celebrations.

But he stopped short of issuing a mandate along the lines of this spring's Safer at Home order, which was struck down by the courts. He also promised to introduce a package of Covid-19 legislation, although given the state Legislature's inaction on Covid-19 it's unclear whether any of it would be passed. The Legislature has not passed a bill since the start of the pandemic.

Evers also urged every resident to do their part to control the spread of the virus, saying that just because they test negative for the virus today does not mean they couldn't test positive tomorrow.

"The surges we see — the new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths — these are not foregone conclusions," he said during his 10 minute address. "These are predictable and preventable. That means the fight against this virus is winnable, but only if we fight it together."

You can read Evers' complete executive order here.