How the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in Madison and Wisconsin
From the 'Every aspect of our lives has been turned on its head': The COVID-19 pandemic one year on series
A year into a once-in-a-century pandemic, Madison and Wisconsin continue to grapple with a virus that's killed thousands, destroyed businesses, upended school and changed nearly all aspects of everyday life.
It's been 12 months of grief, shutdowns, reopenings, protective measures, partisan fighting, lawsuits and loss. Here's how events unfolded in Madison and Wisconsin since last March.
Jan. 30, 2020: After a trip to Beijing, a Dane County resident shows up at UW Hospital's emergency room, becoming the first person in Wisconsin and 12th in the nation to test positive for a novel coronavirus gripping China.
March 11, 2020: In a banner date locally and nationally, UW-Madison announces plans to temporarily suspend in-person classes and empty out dorms on the same day the viral outbreak is declared a pandemic.
March 13, 2020: In the most drastic mitigation measure yet, Gov. Tony Evers orders all public and private schools to shutter within five days, the first of several statewide restrictions in the coming days.
March 19, 2020: Wisconsin records the first of what would eventually become thousands of deaths in the pandemic after two men fall victim to the virus.
March 25, 2020: In the most sweeping measure yet, Evers' "safer at home" order takes effect, which shutters "nonessential" businesses, urges residents to stay home and eventually becomes the target of Republican-led legal challenges.
April 15, 2020: Evers signs the first and only pandemic-related legislation of the year to come out of the Republican-held state Legislature before bipartisan cooperation breaks down over an extension of the "safer at home" order.
May 11, 2020: Free community testing for COVID-19 begins at the Alliant Energy Center.
May 13, 2020: Along ideological lines, the Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down the "safer at home" order, limiting the Evers administration's ability to implement future statewide orders. Restrictions are put in place immediately in Dane County and other places. But elsewhere, people flood the bars.
May 26, 2020: After more than two months of shutdowns, Dane County's "nonessential" businesses are allowed to partially reopen as local restrictions begin to slowly ease.
July 13, 2020: A local face mask mandate by the joint city-county health department takes effect for all of Dane County. Bending to increasing public pressure, Evers later issues a statewide mask rule.
Sept. 9, 2020: As cases surge on campus, UW-Madison takes its most drastic step to preserve a semblance of a regular semester by moving all classes online and quarantining two dorms for two weeks.
Dec. 14, 2020: Ten UW Health employees are among the first in Wisconsin to get the country’s first approved vaccine as the nationwide inoculation effort gets underway.
Jan. 25, 2021: Joining frontline health care employees and other groups, Wisconsin residents age 65 and older become eligible for the vaccine, marking the first shift to getting the shots in the arms of the general public.
Feb. 4, 2021: An hour after Assembly Republicans vote to strike down the statewide mask mandate, Evers issues a new, identical order to maintain the protective mask rule.
March 1, 2021: Dane County's victims of the pandemic are remembered and honored during a "day of remembrance" as the vaccine eligibility expands to teachers and others.
In this Series
'Every aspect of our lives has been turned on its head': The COVID-19 pandemic one year on
"It’s a risk vs. reward thing and I risk my life to save others," said Brandon Jones, who always worried about bringing the virus home to his wife and two kids.
“Truly every aspect of our lives has been turned on its head,” said Malia Jones, a UW-Madison infectious disease epidemiologist.
Democrats are already lining up for the seat.
A year into a once-in-a-century pandemic, Madison and Wisconsin continue to grapple with a virus that's killed thousands, destroyed businesses…
"If you would have told me last March that we'd be virtual for a year, I'd never, ever would have believed it."
The legislation would give the Legislature a greater say over state of emergency declarations.
In an online discussion moderated by WEDC Secretary Missy Hughes, business owners described their struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said the boy, who tested positive for the virus last November, had leukemia and had undergone a bone marrow transplant in 2019.
Experts say cities need to get creative by converting some ground-floor space to apartments, private offices or popup stores.
Attorney General Josh Kaul has raised more money than any incumbent in the last 12 years for this point in the campaign.
Four Madison organizations will get more than $1 million each.
The judicial panel also consolidated two redistricting cases brought by Democrats.
It isn't clear if officer Joseph Kurer had been vaccinated against COVID-19. The police department said that it doesn't provide details on an employee's medical conditions or vaccination status out of respect for their and their family's privacy.
Lawmakers in the Senate claimed more than $316,000 in expenses last year, while legislators in the Assembly claimed nearly $850,000, according to records from chief clerk's offices in both chambers.
Democratic state Sen. Janet Bewley, 70, had just pulled out onto a highway into the path of Alyssa Ortman's speeding car, when the two vehicles collided, police reported.
Some businesses say they feel relief and optimism as Public Health Madison and Dane County's mask mandate is poised to expire Tuesday. Others think the expiration is "premature."
