Republican-led Legislature Is a Public Health Menace Print
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Written by Kristin for Wisconsin Press   
Thursday, 01 October 2020 10:06

coronavirus-nurse-tiredDr. Kristin Lyerly says Legislature’s Failure to Act on COVID-19 Puts Us at Risk


GREEN BAY, WI - Our Republican-led legislature has done nothing to help communities fight the COVID-19 pandemic. “Legislative Republicans are a public health menace,” she said.

“While the virus surges in northeast Wisconsin, as local hospitals are reaching capacity, the Republican majority in the State Assembly refuses to meet and work on needed measures to mitigate both the spread and the impact of this deadly virus,” Lyerly said.

kristin-lyerlymd“Their total failure to protect the public health is a main reason I decided to run for the Assembly,” she said.

“Republicans have refused to pass legislation for nearly 170 days,” she said at a Green Bay news conference, “but they are claiming in their reelection campaigns that they are “tackling” the crisis, and winning.”

Her opponent, State Rep. John Macco, recently sent a campaign mailer claiming he is “Tackling The COVID Crisis Head-on,” she said. “He says we are emerging from the pandemic stronger than ever. Nothing could be further from the truth. John Macco and the GOP majority have fought every scientific-based or common sense solution to handing this pandemic. They fight every state and local mask mandate and they resist every state coordinated response to the virus. We are mired in record numbers of cases and hospitalizations, and the death toll is rising. They are costing us our lives and livelihoods.”

covid-19-protest-madison“Instead of rallying the community to fight this virus, they lie about the severity of the problem and refuse to even acknowledge its effects,” Lyerly said. “Republicans have not offered a plan to combat the virus, instead engaging in legal battles to prevent non-invasive measures like wearing a mask indoors and in crowded spaces,”

Brown County is now seeing the effects with spiking case counts, hospital admissions rising, and some emergency departments treating patients in the hallway.

“These Republicans have never met a common sense virus control measure they wouldn’t oppose. Instead of throwing stones from the cheap seats they need to get into the fight to stop the virus,” she said.

Dr. Lyerly said that the legislature should convene immediately, support the mask mandate, and work on measures to improve testing and ensure adequate medical supplies.

“We need to strengthen our pandemic response now before it is too late,” she concluded.