By Benjamin Yount
May 14, 2021
Milwaukee is moving toward reopening next month. The city yesterday announced no more crowd caps, and no more restrictions. There will, for some reason, still be masks.
This is good news, but it bears asking a question.
Why June 15th? Is there something magical about one month from now? Will I be safer on June 15th than June 12th? Or than May 21st?
A lot of this seems like the people in charge not knowing how to back out of the coronavirus fear-pocket they’ve placed us in for the past year.
From the JS:
The City of Milwaukee on June 15 will ease many of its COVID-19 health restrictions, officials announced Thursday.
Limits on gathering sizes and occupancy will be lifted for businesses and events, and events hosted after June 15 will not need to submit a COVID-19 safety plan to the city s Health Department, Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson said. Officials will continue to recommend physical distancing whenever possible.
Mask wearing will still be enforced indoors, and the department will follow guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for outdoor spaces, she said. We are really leaning into the masking restriction, that is it, she said.
Officials are also encouraging people to adhere to safety plans but are moving from restrictions to recommendations, Johnson said.
WUWM Signs near the exit doors of the Wisconsin Center, thank people for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
Milwaukee-area health officials say local vaccinations for COVID-19 continue to cool off. But more efforts are underway to bring shots to people. Also, there are two more signs of local life becoming a bit more normal.
Here s an update on the pandemic:
State figures show 41% of people in Milwaukee County have received one dose of the vaccine. Thirty-four percent have completed the vaccination series. But medical experts are still hoping to hit 70 to 80% locally and nationwide to reach herd immunity.
Dr. Ben Weston of the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management said he s troubled about the county s downward trend in first doses.