Wisconsin governor issues statewide mask mandate

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday issued a statewide mask mandate amid a spike in coronavirus cases.

Evers' order set up a conflict with Republican legislative leaders and some conservatives who oppose such a requirement and successfully sued to kill the governor's "safer at home" order.

Evers, a Democrat, declared a new public health emergency and ordered the wearing of masks for anyone age 5 and up starting on Saturday for all enclosed spaces except a person's home.

The new order also applies to outdoor bars and restaurants, except when people are eating or drinking.

Anyone who violates the order would be subject to a 200 US dollar fine.

It is scheduled to run until Septemer 28.

The conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court in May tossed out an order from Evers' health secretary closing most nonessential businesses in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he opposes a statewide mandate, but he indicated that he wouldn't sue to stop it like he did the "safer at home" order.

"There are certainly constitutional questions here," Vos said. "I would expect legal challenges from citizen groups."

Rick Esenberg, president of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which has sued Evers several times, said the governor "lacks the legal authority" to issue the order. Esenberg stopped short of promising a lawsuit, saying he was reviewing it.

Republican state Sen. Steve Nass, one of the Legislature's most conservative members, called for lawmakers to meet in an emergency session to kill the order, which he called "illegal and unnecessary."

Evers said he would welcome the Legislature meeting to address the pandemic, which it hasn't done since mid-April. But he said it was a "sad commentary" that Nass wanted to reconvene just to kill the mask order.