Frederica Freyberg:

Governor Tony Evers this week issued a new public health emergency and extended the statewide mask mandate as COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin continue to surge, with state health officials saying the state is entering a new and dangerous phase. Governor Evers joins us now and, governor, thank you so much for being here.

Tony Evers:

Thank you, Frederica.

Frederica Freyberg:

Well, you and state health officials are really sounding the alarm over this surge in cases. What do you see coming at us in this new and dangerous phase?

Tony Evers:

Well, what — clearly the University of Wisconsin System and other colleges going — beginning their school year has brought, you know, a new group of people to a difficult situation. I remember I was just last week talking to Dr. Birx from the federal government and she was saying that Wisconsin is one of two states where we have community spread and campus spread simultaneously. And so we just have to make sure that we’re in a good position to make sure that we have the testing in place and the contact tracing and clearly we need to have these masks on.

Frederica Freyberg:

But meanwhile UW-Madison this week announced they would be reopening to campus activity. What confidence do you have that university officials here in Wisconsin are doing the right thing?

Tony Evers:

Well, they’re sure working hard at it. And we’ve been involved with them all the way along with developing their plans. And they’ve been pretty stringent. I mean they’ve been quarantining people right in the dorms for two weeks now. And so I feel confident that it’s time to slowly move into a different phase, but it has to be done slowly, has to be done carefully and make sure we’re in a good position before we take any other steps. But it’s going to be a bumpy ride, Frederica. No question about that.

Frederica Freyberg:

You say had Republicans and the state Supreme Court not closed down your “safer at home” order we’d be in a different place. Do you blame them for this latest surge?

Tony Evers:

Well, it’s been ongoing, frankly. When we have very little we can do around mitigation. I mean, look at the southern states, where they slowly moved in a better position. But those governors had the opportunity to mask groups of people being together. They could control those things. I, because of that decision made by the Supreme Court way early in this campaign against the COVID, took away all those opportunities to mitigate. So we’re down to the basics: masks, making sure we have good testing and making sure we keep socially distanced from people. That has been our mantra for months now.

Frederica Freyberg:

For their part, state Republican leaders call your latest orders and mask extension illegal and there’s already a lawsuit, as you know, over the last order. What pause does that give you as you issue new orders and extension?

Tony Evers:

Doesn’t give me any pause. My job is to keep the people of Wisconsin healthy. And as you know, we did an order in I think it was mid or late August. Under the circumstances at that time we saw a huge increase. When there is something substantively different we believe we can do this and there’s something very different this time, too, with all the campus COVID-19 positive testing.

Frederica Freyberg:

With just about a minute left, you are asking Republican leaders to lead by example and wear masks saying fundraisers and appearances show photos of crowds without them. What message do you think those kinds of images send?

Tony Evers:

Well, obviously the wrong message. And, you know, not only does it show up in the pictures. It shows up in their actions. And, frankly, at the national level, too. If we’re going to believe that science means anything and the science is really strong around the masks, we had the head of the CDC last week saying it’s the most important thing we can do, it’s even more important than vaccines. So let’s wear masks. Mask up, Republicans. Mask up Wisconsin. It’s really critical. We’ve seen last time we did this more people in the state were wearing masks. And so it’s easy. I can’t say it’s fun, but it’s easy. But we have to do it.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. We leave it there. Governor Tony Evers, thanks very much.

Tony Evers:

Thanks so much, Frederica.