April 10, 2020 – Ozaukee Co., WI – State Senator Duey Stroebel (R-Cedarburg) released the following statement on COVID-19 in Wisconsin.
“This Sunday will mark one month since Governor Evers declared a public health emergency, and according to the prevailing national model[1], we will be near the peak of COVID-19 growth in Wisconsin. This national model has revised down its predictions to a total of 424 Wisconsin deaths by August 4.
A March 26 document from the Department of Health Services shows an expected positive test count of 22,000 by April 8, with 440 – 1,500 people already infected who would eventually die. The trajectory of cases and deaths in Wisconsin is many times lower than the initial projections upon which Governor Evers and Secretary-Designee Palm based their policies.
With COVID-19 patients only taking up about 13.3% of all ICU beds in Wisconsin, with about 29% of ICU space still available[2],the concern of overwhelming our medical system is not as imminent or inevitable as it may have seemed previously.”
“As we enter this new phase of the COVID-19 response, I believe we need a fresh look to reevaluate our policy choices. Every sickness and death is a tragedy, but so are businesses and livelihoods ruined by shelter-in-place orders. The same rings true for the pronounced negative impacts on civil liberties and quality of life. Good policymaking is a cost/benefit analysis. There are benefits to health safety measures, but new data demands we rerun our analysis continuously. I doubt it made sense to close state parks on account of intermittent outdoor social distancing concerns given the real numbers.”
“Nationwide there are dramatic economic impacts from our COVID-19 prevention strategies. The coffers of Wisconsin will not be immune from the brakes being slammed on our economy. Besides being counterproductive, indefinite sheltering orders will eventually lead to civil disobedience. We need to begin planning an orderly method of reopening our civil life in stages to refresh our economy and liberties soon. Even under optimum restart conditions, tough decisions will need to be made about our state finances. States can’t print money like the federal government can.”
“It is irresponsible to conceal the truth from Wisconsinites that we will likely be unable to live up to all the promises of the current state budget. I am not going to tell constituents, who are losing their businesses, getting laid off and seeing their nest eggs dip with the stock market to pay higher taxes so state and local employees can avoid unpaid furloughs, or so government programs can grow at twice the rate of inflation. We do not yet know what our fiscal challenges will look like in a few months, but these are challenges that will only get worse if we fail to reopen our society in a timely fashion.”
[1] Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model (https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america/wisconsin)
[2] According to the Wisconsin Hospitals Association dashboard https://www.wha.org/COVID19Update
[1] Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model (https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america/wisconsin)
[2] According to the Wisconsin Hospitals Association dashboard https://www.wha.org/COVID19Update
Most state agencies that are involved with or without public safety are already understaffed and way underpaid to begin with. You have been trying to take away benefits from state employees and anyone who is in the WRS retirement system since you took office.
I will never vote for Mr. Duey Strobel.
I am appalled that Duey Stroebel thinks more of the economic consequences than those of a pandemic! It is amazingly shortsighted to talk about trampled civil liberties when all we are asked to do is stay home as much as possible and try to distance ourselves. What was the Governor supposed to do when our open State parks were abused by unthinking individuals who gathered and then came back to their communities and possibly spread the virus? We have one of the greatest economies in the world and I and millions of people believe that our economy will rebound and be stronger than it was before! Climb on board Duey! We’ll get through this!!!
The area under the forcasted death “curve” is the same whether we stay at home or do nothing. This virus will eventually make its course through the country. The only reason to stay at home was to flatten the curve so hospitals would not be overburdened and patients would not have a shortage of adequate treatments available. There is no shortage of medical care. The numbers are there. There will be no more or less deaths due to shortage in medical care. There is no reason to prolong this disaster.
Excellent article Duey. It’s about time someone call out this Governor and some of his ridiculous actions. I understand the social distancing but closing down the state parks is totally wrong. First he claims he wants people to walk and get exercise and next thing he closes the areas where people walk. All this is going to do is have people walk in other areas where it will be more congested . The guy seems totally clueless .
Why is everyone seemingly okay with people dying? Less people have died than expected so we need to get over it? I’m so disgusted by the lack of respect for human life. If you consider yourself prolife, you should not be okay with any sort of preventable deaths.
If it were the responsibility of government to avoid all preventable deaths, then you’d need a state-wide 15 mph speed limit. (And all ladders would be outlawed.) Oh, but you’re only interested in this single cause of death?
Is it that hard to self-quarantine if you are a high-risk individual or showing symptoms?! Treating ALL healthy people like lepers is draconian. Where’s the curve for lost jobs, suicides, crime and other social maladies that will skyrocket under this oppressive policy? We could be years away from an effective vaccine! (Some vaccines even increase mortality rates if you do develop an infection later, assuming one can be developed at all. This virus could mutate faster than vaccines could keep-up. That’s why some big companies are hesitant to jump on that R&D.) Better to let it take its course without social distancing under those circumstances.
Mr. Stroebel, if you really want to open for business again, why not advocate strongly for extensive testing? And how about trying to work with the governor instead of against him even though he’s a Democrat.
Reading some of the comments criticizing Mr. Stroebel are probably the same people raiding the stores of toilet paper and can goods. I still can’t figure that whole nonsense out in the first place. The flu virus in 2018 killed 80,000 Americans and not one peep from the news media. I do know for you people posting your anti Duey comments, paranoia will also kill people.
Just what kind of fool are you!?! The numbers are lower because we are doing what we need to do! After putting so many people at risk last Tuesday for the election, now you want to kill them for the money? What kind of troll are you and your fellow Republicans anyway!
Spot on to Mr. Duey Stroebel! Keeping fighting for our freedom! Thank you Sir.
Steven Beringer—-Town of Hartford/Washington County Resident
You definitely speak some truth, and I wish your neighboring state, Minnesota, could also listen to what you are saying! The people saying you are only worried about the money and not the people dying aren’t looking at the big picture, and are missing the point, as the whole economy is going to take a drastic hit from this, and we won’t recover for years if ever. Lots of small businesses will die from this also.
Mr Stroebel,
I guess you again feel that’s it’s your political duty to your party to go against whatever our DULY ELECTED DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR is doing for ALL THE PEOPLE IN WI. , REGARDLESS OF THEIR POLITICAL AFFILIATION!
I listened to his press conference the other day as various reporters across the state called in their questions. The ONE THING THAT CAME OUT LOUD & CLEAR … that you missed, as usual, is that it is currently unclear what will happen to our COVID-19 numbers until @ least TWO WEEKS pass AFTER FORCING PEOPLE TO GO TO THE POLLS TO VOTE!! And as I recall YOU & YOUR PARTY, felt it was fine to put our lives at risk and REQUIRE IN PERSON VOTING, knowing full well that most people didn’t receive their mail- in ballots – hoping to ensure that your party candidates would win. SO SAD YOUR JUDGE LOST & Voters prevailed. LOL!!!
Gov. Evers was very clear in that interview that it would be a minimum of 2 weeks to see if we have a surge in cases after people were in proximity in the long voting lines that occurred. Decisions would be re-evaluated @ that time because too many people could currently be asymptomatic & unfortunately infecting people. THE DIRECT RESULT OF YOU & STATE REPUBLICAN callous actions!!! And the Supreme Court WHO MET not in person- BUT VIRTUALLY!! YEAH, they didn’t risk being in the same room with each other. BUT IT WAS OK FOR THE REST OF US TO STAND IN LINE & Vote In the same room! Any increase in cases, IS YOUR FAULT- You now OWN IT!
As the mother & grandmother of 4 healthcare workers opening the state TOO SOON, puts my kids’s LIVES more @ risk as they take care of COVID- 19 patients!!! If over- worked healthcare workers start falling to the disease, like in NY, the same thing will happen here!!
Opening the economy too soon would be a disaster , as some of the nations that thought they were past their outbreak are finding new outbreaks as they’ve tried to return to normal after months of quarantine. It’s time YOU grow a heart & start acting for ALL the people living in Washington County, WI & the NATION, REGARDLESS of their POLITICAL AFFILIATION!!