For weeks, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce has insisted that Wisconsin does not face a binary choice when deciding to reopen, and its new Back to Business plan offers a path for businesses to start up with COVID-19 mitigation strategies.
But will Gov. Tony Evers agree to implement it, discuss a compromise between WMC’s approach and his own Badger Bounce Back plan, or just stick with his own plan, which is gradually reopening the state?
Whereas Evers’ plan is based on a two-week decline in state cases, as well as additional testing, contact tracing, and protective equipment, the WMC approach takes a county-by-county approach to reopening Wisconsin. WMC President and CEO Kurt Bauer says the organization briefed Evers’ cabinet members late in the day on April 23, but the only thing he has heard since was an official statement released by the governor’s office last Friday.
Lives and livelihoods
Most of the state’s economy has been shut down since March 25, the date on which Evers’ safer-at-home order went into effect. The initial safer-at-home order was to expire at 8 a.m. on April 24, but it was since extended until May 26, a move that has led to calls and protests to reopen the state.
WMC states that the original time frame of the safer-at-home order was meant to cover two 14-day incubation periods to slow the spread of COVID-19, and now the business organization believes it’s time to protect livelihoods, as well.
Under the data-driven plan, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services would provide a form on its website based on the Back to Business model. To determine what steps are needed to reopen, a business would enter its company name, Wisconsin county, and six-digit NAICS code. After submitting the form, the platform would automatically use four risk factors to determine the level of risk for that specific company, including county infection rates and population density.
Companies would be given a risk factor of either minimal, moderate, or substantial based on an analysis of more than 300 NAICS codes and various data points from public health sources. The higher the risk, the more precautions businesses would be required to take to avoid further spread of COVID-19.
Precautions could include social distancing among employees and customers, operating at reduced capacity, increasing use of personal protective equipment (PPE), ramping up cleaning procedures, and other steps.
WMC says the state should not take a one-size-fits-all approach because different parts of the state are impacted in different ways. It notes that 48 percent of Wisconsin’s confirmed COVID-19 cases have been in Milwaukee County; meanwhile, seven Wisconsin counties have yet to report a confirmed case. So, by WMC’s reasoning, there is a much higher risk of spreading the infection at a barber or hair salon in Milwaukee County than there is at a barber or hair salon in Vernon County.
WMC also says the plan offers employers a clear vision for when and how they can begin to operate, and it was developed with input from groups representing business, government, and the medical community. The proposal also draws on recommendations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Centers for Disease Control.
Is the cure worse?
Asked what WMC’s member businesses, the ones deemed nonessential, are telling him about how long they can hold out before reopening, Bauer notes that during the 34 days Wisconsin has been closed, the state unemployment rate has skyrocketed to 18 percent, which is by far the highest ever recorded. In addition, economic activity has plunged by 50 percent and manufacturing, Wisconsin’s primary economic driver, has fallen an incredible 60 percent.
“What I am hearing from my members is that the economic consequences of COVID-19 are worse than the public health consequences,” Bauer states. “Each day we are shut down, more people lose their jobs and more businesses go bankrupt.”
On Monday, Evers issued an order allowing nonessential businesses to do curbside drop-off of goods and animals, enabling businesses such as dog groomers, small engine repair shops, upholstery businesses, and others to safely open.
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