While Trump and Pence extol the supposed success of their COVID-19 efforts, actual facts on the ground—at least in Milwaukee—tell a different story. The first three accounts below are taken from news reports from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on March 20 and 21. The last item is from local social media as identified.
- Yesterday, eastern Wisconsin’s largest hospital system, Advocate Aurora, announced that it was scrapping plans for drive-through testing of persons with COVID-19 symptoms. The hospital does not have enough supplies to cover the anticipated testing demand from all those with symptoms. They need to reserve their limited supplies for only those who are most severely ill.
- Last night, Milwaukee’s fire chief appeared on TV asking for public donations of medical supplies and protective equipment for fire department staff responding to calls from residents who are sick. Today, Police Chief Alfonso Morales issued a similar plea for “N-95 masks, coverall safety suits, isolation gowns, goggles, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes for officers.” He noted that his department had ordered such supplies last week, but did not expect them to arrive for several months!
- Tonight, Governor Tony Evers announced he is seeking from FEMA additional supplies of protective equipment for Wisconsin’s first responders beyond those already sought because of continuing shortages of necessary supplies.
- Tonight, on the Milwaukee edition of the Next Door Neighborhood social media service, a health care worker (who identified herself) wrote the following plea for supplies for hospital workers: “Milwaukee community. I am a healthcare worker asking for your help. The hospitals in the Milwaukee area are running out of supplies to keep our patients and providers safe. If anyone has masks or eye wear (goggles, face shields) they can donate please let me know.”
Let these news snippets from Milwaukee sink in as the coronavirus caseload rises exponentially across the nation. The largest hospital in the Milwaukee region acknowledges it cannot test everyone who needs a test and thus, is cutting essential plans to expand testing. The Milwaukee police and fire chiefs and individual health care workers are begging the public for masks, goggles and hand sanitizer. The governor continues to seek more help from FEMA even as past requests for supplies remain unfilled by the federal government.
Contrast this news with Trump and Pence declaring their efforts as “fantastic”, “bold”, “decisive”, and “a 10 on a scale from 1 go 10.”
I urge others to submit examples of what is actually happening in the cities, towns and states where they live. We can all rightfully complain that the media is not doing enough to correct the falsehoods coming from Trump and Pence. But we can all do more in simple ways to create a chronicle of facts that can be woven into a larger story of how the current Administration has failed to serve and protect the health and safety of the American people in the face of the current pandemic.