Some local governments in Wisconsin drop stay-at-home orders

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Some local health officials in Wisconsin rescinded their stay-at-home orders Friday after attorneys warned they could be vulnerable to legal challenges after the state Supreme Court wiped out Gov. Tony Evers' statewide order.

The Wisconsin Counties Association said after Wednesday's ruling that it was unclear whether whether local orders mimicking the statewide mandate would stand up in court. By Friday, health officials in Kenosha, Brown, Manitowoc and Outagamie counties had dropped orders, as did the cities of Cudahy and Appleton.

“While the WCA and outside legal counsel did not opine that counties were outright prohibited from taking such actions, they did indicate that overall, the legal basis to do so is likely weak,” Brown County's attorney, David Hemery, said in a letter Friday to the county's health officer, Anna Destree.

Wisconsin's largest and most liberal counties, Milwaukee and Dane, home to about 1.5 million of the state's 6 million residents, left their orders in place.

“We think this is good public health,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said. "It appears some people are following the political winds. We still have hundreds of people dying and thousands of people sick.”

Evers in March banned nonessential travel and ordered nonessential businesses to close in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The order was supposed to expire in late April but Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm extended it to May 26 at Evers' direction.

Republican legislators frustrated with the order's economic fallout asked the state Supreme Court to strike the order down. The conservative-controlled court did so Wednesday in a 4-3 decision that found Palm had acted beyond her authority.

The ruling led bars, restaurants, hair salons and...