MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin health officials reported more jaw-dropping COVID-19 infection numbers Thursday as people continued to flaunt recommendations to wear masks and avoid gatherings and state government remained gridlocked on how to beat the pandemic.
The state Department of Health Services reported a record 7,497 new confirmed cases on Thursday, shattering the old record of 7,065 set just five days ago on Saturday. The department reported the disease was a factor in 58 more deaths. The state has now seen 293,388 infections and 2,515 deaths.
The only bit of good news Thursday was that slightly fewer people were hospitalized with the disease. Hospitalizations stood at 2,077 people as of Thursday afternoon, down from a record 2,102 on Wednesday.
Gov. Tony Evers said during a news conference that he expects to introduce a package of pandemic relief legislation next week. He declined to reveal any details of the proposals, but did not sound optimistic that Republicans who control the Legislature would sign on.
"They're not in favor of mandating anything," Evers said. "That makes it more difficult."
Republican lawmakers have not met to address the pandemic since they passed a relief package in April. Since then, they and their conservative allies have worked to block every Evers initiative to curb the spread of the virus. They persuaded the state Supreme Court to strike down his stay-at-home order in May and convinced a state appeals court last month to block his restrictions on indoor gatherings. They're also challenging Evers' mask mandate before the state Supreme Court.
As a result, Evers has been reduced to begging people to stay home and avoid gatherings. He has hammered home that message during twice-weekly news conferences for months but not enough people are listening.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said last month that the state's approach to the pandemic isn't working and has called for more testing. He said Tuesday that he left a message with Evers asking him to start negotiating on legislation.
