Could a mask warrant come back to Wisconsin?

MADISON, WMTV – With the increase in coronavirus cases due to the more contagious Delta variant, health officials at all levels are now strongly advising all people to wear masks indoors, which regardless of their vaccination status.

The current mask directive is not a mandate, but a strong recommendation and a suggested guideline to follow.

The recommendations focus on areas with high infection rates as measured by the CDC. The latest CDC data shows most of Wisconsin is clear, but there are at least a dozen counties with “significant” or “high” infection rates.

With the growing threat of the Delta variant, could the people of Wisconsin expect another statewide mask tenure in the future? Officials from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said on Wednesday it was not likely.

“As many know, the Supreme Court has made findings that limit the power of DHS to issue warrants,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk.

The previous state mask mandate was canceled after the Republican-controlled legislature argued that neither Governor Evers nor DHS had the authority to issue such a mandate. The High Court later upheld this decision and the mask warrant was dismissed.

From now on, decisions on mask mandates are left to those at the local level. DHS officials say they will continue to work with these local health partners to advise such decisions in the future, if necessary.

On Tuesday, Dane County Director Joe Parisi said if people took current advice seriously, there should be no need for warrants.

Health officials continue to stress that vaccination is the best tool to fight the virus.

“What I want people to remember is that the solution to this isn’t necessarily warrants for more masks. The solution to this situation with this variant is the vaccine, ”said Willems Van Dijk.

She points out that when mask warrants were previously in place, this was the best protection option because we didn’t have the vaccine available. Now that we are doing this, DHS encourages anyone who has not been vaccinated to do so as soon as possible, and everyone to mask themselves when they are near other people outside your household.

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