Wisconsin Justice Compares Safer At Home To 'Internment Camps'

MILWAUKEE, WI — Wisconsin has confirmed 335 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours. Health officials also reported nine new deaths from the virus Wednesday afternoon. As of Wednesday, Wisconsin has seen 8,901 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 362 virus-related deaths.

As Wisconsin health officials confirmed new case and fatality numbers, oral arguments challenging the extension of Gov. Tony Evers' Safer At Home order began Tuesday.

In describing the governor's order, Justice Rebecca Bradley went on the record, comparing the Safer At Home order to the Japanese internment camps during World War II in a description she delivered to State Assistant Attorney General Colin Roth.

"I'll direct your attention to another time in history, in the Korematsu decision, where the Supreme Court said the need for action was great and time was short and that justified, and I'm quoting, 'assembling together and placing under guard all those of Japanese ancestry' in assembly centers during World War II," Bradley said to Roth. "Could the secretary under this broad delegation of legislative power or legislative-like power order people out of their homes and into centers where are they are properly social distanced in order to combat the pandemic?"

Republican lawmakers in the Wisconsin State Legislature filed the lawsuit with the State Supreme Court in late April, seeking to block Democratic Gov. Tony Evers stay-at-home order extension, citing a legal overreach by the state's Department of Health Services.

Evers directed State Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm to extend the state's stay-at-home order from April 24 to May 27. News of the extension roiled lawmakers and resulted in the lawsuit.

According to official documents, lawmakers filed their lawsuit against Andrea Palm, and fellow state health officials Julie Willems Van Dijk, and Nicole Safar with the Wisconsin Supreme Court.=

Wisconsin Coronavirus Cases: By The Numbers

The following data was provided by the Wisconsin Hospital Association via their COVID-19 Situational Awareness Dashboard. All results are current as of 3:30 p.m. on May 6.

Cases

8,901 Total Cases
335 Increase Over Last 24 Hours

Deaths

362 Total Deaths
9 Increase Over Last 24 Hours

Hospital Admissions

298 Total COVID-19 Patients
209 Patients With Pending Tests
107 Intensive Care Unit Patients

Bed Count

Intensive Care Unit
1,453 Total
405 Available

Intermediate Care
874 Total
200 Available

Medical Surgical
7,216 Total
1,646 Available

Negative Flow Isolation Beds
2,005 Total
1,175 Available

Related Reading

• Wisconsin Coronavirus Tracker
• Wearing Masks During Coronavirus: What The Wisconsin DHS Says
• Coronavirus: Some Wisconsin Businesses Can Reopen Under New Order

• What's going on in Wisconsin? Find Out Here
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