Coronavirus: At least seven cases in Milwaukee linked to in-person voting during April primary, officials report

‘I fear this is just the beginning’

Officials in Milwaukee have been able to trace seven positive coronavirus cases back to in-person voting during the Wisconsin primary.

Wisconsin went ahead with it’s Democratic primary on 7 April, despite the state’s governor, Tony Evers, attempting to postpone the election.

Although the state had a stay-at-home order in place, the conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court blocked Mr Evers’ attempts and ruled that the primary had to go ahead in-person.

At the time, the governor said that the health of the state’s citizens was more important than the primary.

“At the end of the day, this is about the people of Wisconsin,” he said. “They frankly don’t care much about Republicans and Democrats fighting. They’re scared. We have the surgeon general saying this is Pearl Harbour. It’s time to act.”

Milwaukee’s health commissioner, Jeanette Kowalik, revealed on Monday that six of the city’s voters and one poll worker had tested positive for Covid-19.

Ms Kowalik added that they hoped to know more about the situation later in the week.

Wisconsin senator Dave Hansen told reporters, including one from NBC, on a conference call on Tuesday: “I fear this is just the beginning”.

Additionally, Sean Eldridge, founder of advocacy group Stand Up America, told the outlet that if postal voting isn’t introduced, more positive cases could occur.

“This was entirely preventable, but now Wisconsinites are paying a real price for the reckless disregard for their safety,” he said.

“If Congress fails to provide states funding for vote-by-mail and other election assistance, then what we’re seeing in Wisconsin right now could be the tip of the iceberg,” Mr Eldridge added.

Before the election went ahead, Bernie Sanders, who was a candidate in the primary, blasted the decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to continue with the election in-person.

“Let’s be clear: holding this election amid the coronavirus outbreak is dangerous, disregards the guidance of public health experts, and may very well prove deadly,” he said.

“For that reason, our campaign will not be engaged in any traditional GOTV efforts,” the senator from Vermont added.

There has not been a Democratic primary since the one in Wisconsin, and states all over the country have postponed their elections, amid the pandemic.

Google’s dedicated coronavirus page shows that Wisconsin has upwards of 4,199 confirmed cases and at least 211 deaths.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, nationally there are upwards of 788,920 people who have tested positive for coronavirus. The death toll has reached at least 42,458.