Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down governor’s coronavirus stay-at-home order

Washington Post - May 13, 2020

The Wisconsin state Supreme Court has struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order, ruling that the Democratic governor does not have authority to act without input from the legislature, even during a public health crisis. The 4-to-3 decision was written by four conservative judges on the court.

More than 295,000 people have died worldwide from covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, and around 83,000 of those have been reported in the United States. The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. is nearly 1.4 million.

Here are some significant developments:

• The Abbott coronavirus rapid-result test hailed by President Trump and used by the White House failed to detect infected samples in a large number of cases that were caught by a rival firm, a preliminary study says.
• Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said the U.S. economy could be in store for a long and painful recession if Congress and the White House do not push more aid through soon.
• Ordinary speech can emit small respiratory droplets that linger in the air for at least eight minutes and potentially much longer, according to a new study, which could help explain why infections so often cluster in confined spaces with limited air circulation.
• Some countries that had already reopened are closing down again after sudden spikes in infections. Among the latest: Saudi Arabia, which announced a total lockdown for the end of Ramadan after new cases soared during the holy month.
• The mayor of Washington, D.C., extended a stay-at-home order through June 8, and the entire capital region appeared likely to remain shut down. Meanwhile, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan shifted his stay-at-home order to a safer-at-home advisory. And Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam urged residents to continue social distancing even as state begins to reopen.

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