We waited nine months for this?

At least they finally did something. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something meaningful. The Wisconsin Assembly passed a series of bills to deal with the pandemic last week, the first piece of legislation of any kind they have passed since April. But it seems the mission of this legislation designed to respond to the coronavirus is to deny its existence. Under the Republican plan, the ability of local health departments to issue health guidelines would be restricted. Virtual schooling would be limited, while schools that offer in-person learning would be prioritized for state funding. And businesses that don’t follow government requirements aimed at curbing the spread of the virus would be given legal immunity by the state. The plan that won approval would bar health officers from forbidding gatherings in places of worship. The bill fails to address the needs of health care workers, who are calling for an expansion of workers compensation, and ensuring that all health care workers have fully paid sick time and no-cost Covid health care coverage. Our elected officials call our front-line health care workers heroes, but those are empty words if they don’t also give those workers the tools they need to do their jobs.