Safer at Home is Working, Health Officials Say

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced that measures Wisconsin residents have taken to help “flatten the curve” of the coronavirus are working.

These measures included a Safer at Home order to eliminate non-essential travel and activities. The order went into effect on March 25.

According to the model created by DHS, Wisconsin was projected to have 22,000 infections by April 8, which would have ultimately resulted in somewhere between 440 and 1,500 deaths.

These numbers were based on projected significant exponential growth in positive cases.

However, since the Safer at Home order, there has been a decrease in exponential growth in the number of cases. Wisconsin’s rate of doubling of infections was 3.4 days in early March and, over the past two weeks, the rate of doubling is now approximately 12 days.

“Without effective treatments or a vaccine, the only way to slow the spread of COVID-19 is through non-pharmaceutical interventions that help us maintain physical distancing,” said Chief Medical Officer and State Epidemiologist Dr. Ryan Westergaard. “The Safer at Home order has been our main intervention in Wisconsin, and we are beginning to see the results.”

“Limiting physical contact between people is our only tool at slowing the spread of this virus,” explained Secretary-Designee Andrea Palm. “We will continue to work through our statewide response to develop capacity to implement effective containment strategies across the state. These are critical next steps to prevent a future surge of cases.”