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Wisconsin ICU capacity decreases due to viral outbreak
Wisconsin health officials say hospitals are still under pressure as the state continues to set daily records for the number of COVID-19 cases. (November 12)
The allegation: Wisconsin Supreme Court just overturned stay-at-home order
A series of articles and Facebook posts surfaced on Nov. 12 announcing that the Wisconsin Supreme Court had rejected Governor Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order.
This probably came as a surprise to the Wisconsinites, who were not in fact under a stay-at-home order. And this had not been the case since May.
This is literally old news – the result of a news agency error and a lack of research by other posters.
Here is what happened.
Originates from a publication error in the Washington Times
The Washington Times published a story with a date of November 12, 2020 with the following lead:
MADISON, Wisconsin – The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned Governor Tony Evers’ coronavirus home stay order, ruling that his administration had overstepped his authority by extending it for a month without consulting lawmakers.
The 4-3 decision essentially reopens the state, lifting limits on the size of gatherings, allowing people to travel as they please and allowing closed businesses to reopen, including bars and restaurants. The Tavern League of Wisconsin quickly posted the news on their website, telling members, “You can OPEN IMMEDIATELY!”
It seems reasonably believable because it was released on a Thursday, the pandemic is raging and Wisconsin is ruled by a Democratic governor.
But it did happen on Wednesday May 13th. The identical article is published with this date on the Associated Press website and many others.
The article remained on the Times website with an incorrect date until USA TODAY brought it to the attention of editors on November 13. At that time, it was listed on the homepage as the site’s most popular item.
More: Fact Check: No evidence mask wearers arrive in ICUs with pneumonia
Washington Times editor-in-chief Ian Bishop said he was investigating how the story was reposted with the wrong date. The Times updated its article to note that it happened in May.
Meanwhile, several posts sharing this story as if it were new drew significant traffic on Facebook, including a post by a representative from the state of Minnesota and an article by the far-right Gateway Pundit news site, who has regularly been a provider of disinformation.
Gateway Pundit wrote her own story, with added comments, citing the Washington Times without noting that the story happened six months ago. He even claimed that “this is not the first time” the High Court has overturned an Evers order, citing the May ruling without realizing it was the same. USA TODAY has contacted Gateway Pundit for comment.
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Spring order at home from Wisconsin
This May 13 order from the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the Evers home maintenance order, which was imposed on March 12 and was due to end on May 26.
The ordinance, which closed many shops, bars, restaurants and schools, was due to expire at the end of April. But Evers and Department of Health Secretary Andrea Palm extended it for another month as virus cases continued to climb – prompting GOP lawmakers to take legal action.
Evers has not implemented another stay-at-home order since, although it has implemented a statewide mask warrant that remains in place.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin has emerged as one of the nation’s COVID-19 hotspots, setting near-daily records of cases and deaths through October and November as it consistently shows one of the daily case rates. highest per capita in the country.
Evers gave a speech on Nov. 10 calling on residents to stay in their homes voluntarily because “this crisis is urgent” and hospitals in Wisconsin are running out of intensive care beds. He stopped before putting in another binding order
Our decision: missing context
We evaluate this MISSING CONTEXT statement. This is old news, but it is presented as news. The original version of the Times story did not note that this actually happened in May, and later versions by Gateway Pundit and the Minnesota state legislator had yet to make this correction one day. later.
Our sources of fact-checking
- Washington Times, November 12 (archived version), Wisconsin Supreme Court dismisses governor’s house arrest order
- Facebook post from Jeremy Munson, November 12
- Gateway Pundit, on November 12 Democratic Governor Tony Evers furious after Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected his latest Covid Stay-at-Home order
- The Associated Press, May 13, Wisconsin High Court dismisses governor’s stay-at-home order
- Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling, May 13
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 8, Governor Tony Evers issues guidelines for operation when businesses reopen
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nov 10, “ This Crisis Is Urgent ”: Tony Evers Urges Wisconsin to Stay Home on Day of Record Cases, Deaths
Contact Eric Litke at (414) 225-5061 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @ericlitke.
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