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Dane County puts Safer at Home back in effect locally until May 26

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Dane County Executive Joe Parisi.

MADISON (WKOW) -- Public Health Madison and Dane County (PHMDC) reinstituted Gov. Tony Evers' Safer at Home order just minutes after the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck it down.

PHMDC's order applies only to Dane County and puts limitations, such as closing nonessential businesses, back into place until May 26.

In a news conference Wednesday evening Madison and Dane County officials criticized the Wisconsin Supreme Court for their ruling which they claim lifted an order that was working to protect the state while offering no guidance on how businesses and citizens should return to work or recreation.

"What the Supreme Court did and what the plantiffs did was create confusion and chaos," Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said. "They threw everything out the window without a follow up plan."

PHMDC's order mirrors the governor's safer at home order asking locals to continue as if the supreme court ruling never happened.

"Our main concern and our main responsibility is to the people of Dane County and we want to let the people of Dane County know that when you wake up tomorrow it's going to be the same as when you woke up today," Parisi said.

Officials said they're asking local law enforcement to offer education first to anyone in violation before issuing any additional enforcement. They added that the region hasn't had many issues with voluntary compliance so far.

As for when the county would reopen, PHDMC's order follows the guidelines in the Badger Bounce Back plan, turning back the dial based on the gating criteria.

"Here in Madison we believe in science and we will be guided by data," Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said.

Parisi added that this does not mean the county does not want to get back to normal. Instead, he said he hopes that when it does reopen it doesn't undo all the progress the state has made fighting COVID-19, forcing businesses to close again.

"Folks want us to do this right the first time because when we do start to dial back up, we don't want to dial back down," he said.

According to PHDMC, the health department and county have the legal grounds to do this under the Supreme Court order as it left room for regional health measures.

Officials added that Dane County had a public health order closing schools and forbidding mass gatherings before the safer at home order went into effect. They said that order did not result in any legal challenges and they don't expect this one to either.