MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on the coronavirus outbreak in Wisconsin (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
The University of Wisconsin System regents are set to vote this week on whether to scrap requirements that most students submit ACT or SAT scores as part of their admission applications.
The regents are set to meet Thursday to consider lifting the requirement at all institutions except UW-Madison for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years.
System officials wrote in a memo to regents that dropping the requirement will allow applicants to move ahead without being penalized for their inability to take the tests as testing agencies cancel appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s unclear why UW-Madison isn’t part of the proposal. Spokespeople for the system and UW-Madison didn’t immediately respond to emails.
___
2:05 p.m.
Nearly all Wisconsin hospitals must affirm they can treat all patients without crisis care in order for the first phase of Gov. Tony Evers’ coronavirus reopening plan to be met, state health officials said Tuesday.
Ninety-five percent of the state’s hospitals would also have to arrange for testing for all symptomatic clinical staff treating patients to meet the first phase under Evers’ plan.
A third criteria - a downward trend in COVID-19 cases among health care workers calculated weekly - has currently been met but it could be reversed if cases start to increase, said Wisconsin Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk.
Other previously announced criteria for entering the first phase of the reopening plan include fewer new diagnoses of coronavirus, fewer new reports of flu-like symptoms, and a downward percentage of positive coronavirus tests over 14 days. The percentage of positive cases decreased Tuesday for the second straight day but has been relatively flat the past 14 days.
As of Tuesday, 353 people had died from the virus in Wisconsin and there were more than 8,500 positive cases.
Evers’ “safer at home” order is currently set to expire on May 26.
Another focus for the state to address the pandemic is increasing the number of people who can do contact tracing to track everyone who had been in contact with people who tested positive.
Van Dijk said the state has added more than 200 people to do contact tracing and is hiring more. She said more than 1,000 people had applied to work as contact tracers and the number to be hired will depend on the number of increased cases.
___
11:55 a.m.
Sixteen and 17-year-olds in Wisconsin would not have to take a road test in order to receive their driver’s license under a new pilot program announced by the state Department of Transportation on Tuesday.
Also, drivers age 64 and under will be given the option to renew their driver’s license online. The changes take effect Monday and are expected to remain in place for the remainder of the year.
They are designed to address a backlog in young drivers trying to get their driver’s license and to limit in-person visits to testing sites across the state during the coronavirus pandemic.
The state Division of Motor Vehicles estimates there is a backlog of 16,000 road test requests. Of those, 10,000 are for 16- and 17-year-olds who would be eligible for the waiver. Parents can still schedule an in-person test beginning May 8 if they do not want to sign the waiver.
In order to receive the waiver, the driver must also have had an instructional permit for at least six months; completed driver’s education classes; finished behind-the-wheel training with a licensed instructor; and competed at least 30 hours of driving with a parent or sponsor.
The licenses of about 80,000 people have expired since the pandemic began, the Department of Transportation said. They were granted extensions until July 25. The new program allows those eligible to renew online.
Eligible drivers must be a U.S. citizen with a regular Class D license; be 64 years old or younger; have no new medical restrictions; and not have had any negative change to their vision since their last license renewal.
___
11:15 a.m.
Conservative justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court cast doubt during arguments Tuesday about the power of Gov. Tony Evers’ health secretary to issue a “safer-at-home” order closing most nonessential businesses in the state.
The court held oral arguments Tuesday in a case brought by Republican legislative leaders. They want the court to block the order issued by Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm, arguing that Palm exceeded her authority in issuing the stay-at-home order that’s set to run until May 26.
Justices on the conservative-controlled court questioned what would happen if they invalidated the order immediately. Assistant Attorney General Colin Roth said “people will die” if the order is repealed with nothing to replace it.
Justice Rebecca Bradley had some of the sharpest questions for Roth, saying she did not think the state health secretary had the power to compel people to remain at home and force businesses to close. Bradley likened her powers to tyranny and compared the order to Japanese internment camps during World War II.
“The people never consented to a single individual having that kind of power,” Bradley said.
Roth said the health secretary is acting under the powers given to the office under the law to fight a pandemic.
Justice Annette Ziegler said that the justices “may personally think” that the order “makes sense” but the Supreme Court has to apply the constitution and law.
___
9:35 a.m.
Nearly 512,000 people in Wisconsin have filed for unemployment since the coronavirus outbreak began in March, based on the latest figures from the state Department of Workforce Development tracking filings made through Monday.
The state reported that as of Monday it had paid more than $384 million in claims. During last week alone, the state received more than 4.7 million calls about unemployment benefits.
“We continue to navigate uncharted waters,” DWD Secretary Caleb Frostman said in a statement. “DWD is adding hundreds of new staff, multiple outside vendors, and working overtime to process and analyze the claims to help as many Wisconsinites as fast as possible.”
Thirty-six members of the Republican state Assembly sent Frostman a letter on Monday calling for the department to look at all possible options to process unemployment claims more quickly. The lawmakers said the majority of inquiries they were hearing from constituents was frustration over delays in approving their claims.
A preliminary analysis by DWD said the state’s unemployment rate could hit 27%, a level not seen since the Great Depression. At the height of the Great Recession in early 2010 unemployment hit 10%. Unemployment figures for April aren’t available yet, but a year ago the state rate was 2.8%.
___
7:45 a.m.
A private Catholic college in Manitowoc says it will close for good, citing in part the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
Holy Family College, formerly known as Silver Lake College, will lay off employees in June and eliminate any remaining jobs by the end of August.
WLUK-TV reports the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity Sponsored Ministries announced the decision on Monday. Leaders say enrollment and fundraising challenges were made more difficult with COVID-19.
The college, founded in 1935, has about 360 students enrolled in the spring semester.
A limited number of already scheduled summer term classes will be offered to allow students to complete their degree requirements.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.