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Much of Wisconsin is seeing lower rates of diagnosed COVID-19 cases, but not Racine. Salaried workers in the city’s under-resourced health departed are working up to 17 hours on some days in response to a pandemic that won’t let up, Christina Lieffring reports for the Journal Times.
Racine County is the state’s biggest virus hotspot, with more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 people, according to the state Department of Health Resources. That’s more than 2.5-times the state average. The county of roughly 200,000 people has recorded 51 COVID-19 deaths — with 20 of those deaths inside the city of Racine.
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, is drawing widespread condemnation for blaming immigrant “culture” for the region’s outbreak.
“I know the reason at least in my region is because of a large immigrant population where it’s just a difference in culture where people are living much closer and working much closer,” Vos said on a call secretly recorded by a staffer for Gov. Tony Evers, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, accused Vos of “scapegoating and trying to appeal to racism and bigotry against immigrants in order to absolve himself of his lack of leadership,” the Journal Sentinel reported.
Top Stories
Racine’s understaffed health department pushed to limit; city positive rate at 14.3% of those tested — Journal Times
28 Wisconsin nursing homes report COVID-19 deaths, federal data says — Wisconsin State Journal
Governor Evers announces $40 million in funding to hospitals to help with COVID-19 losses — WTMJ-TV
‘Food is always last on my list’: Pantries pivot to meet demand during coronavirus pandemic — WPR
Petition calls for officials to drop citations for violating Green Bay’s emergency curfew — Green Bay Press Gazette
How one Milwaukee artist is documenting the voices of health care workers who must care for COVID-19 patients — Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
‘We’re not kidding around’: Wisconsin tribal businesses require face masks amid COVID-19 — Green Bay Press Gazette
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Government updates
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
U.S. Centers and Disease Control and Prevention
Quotable
“People are tired. People want to get life back to normal. People want to get out in summertime. They don’t want to think about this. That’s why it’s important that we do everything we can to not let people forget that the pandemic is still here. It’s human nature to say ‘let’s ignore the bad stuff, and let’s deal with the good stuff.’’
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, responding to a question Thursday about how Milwaukee County has seen an alarming drop in people being tested for COVID-19 as the pandemic continues.
Data to note
The state Department of Health Services reported 11 new COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, pushing Wisconsin’s total to 682.
Here is a look at the state’s biggest hotspots for cases of the virus and deaths, courtesy of our partners at WisContext.
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Community Heroes: Making a difference, one garbage bag at a time — Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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