Madison, WI — Senator Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield) released the following statement in support of the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce “Back to Business Plan”.
“Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve worked closely with a broad coalition of business groups and the medical community to help craft a transparent, data-driven plan that will allow people to safely return to work. It was truly a team effort to create something that the public can have confidence in as we work to begin reopening the economy.”
“People and businesses from around the state are struggling with the negative impacts of the stay at home order. Our plan provides organizations with criteria that if followed, will allow them to safely begin operating again. As the risk in a county declines, the ability to operate increases, and vice-versa. This model also adapts to the ever changing realities of COVID-19 by ensuring that hospitals have the capacity to treat patients, while keeping their employees safe. ”
Under the plan, businesses around the state that are currently unable to operate or operating with heavy restrictions would enter three simple pieces of information into a website. A risk score is then calculated based on the following factors:
- Health care capacity in the healthcare region of the state, (includes PPE availability, ICU and ventilator capacity)
- Infection rate in the county of operation
- Interactive concentration, which measures the risk associated with people interacting with each other at that particular business
- Population density for the county of operation
The score determines what mitigation efforts businesses would undertake in order to reopen. Examples of those mitigation efforts could include, but are not limited to: operating at a reduced capacity, social distancing measures, increased hygiene efforts or PPE for employees.
“We aimed to create a credible plan that the public can have confidence in and easily understand. This model also fits perfectly into the “Opening Up America Again” framework that the White House recently released. It’s time to get Wisconsin moving again!”
