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At Least 15 Coronavirus Cases Linked To Wisconsin Election

Andy Manis
/
Getty Images
A poll worker checks identification from a voter on April 7, 2020 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Residents in Wisconsin went to the polls a day after the U.S. Supreme Court voted against an extension of the absentee ballot deadline in the state.

At least 15 poll workers and voters who participated in Wisconsin’s April 7 election have confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to state Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk.

“We have correlation they voted and they were at the polls, but we do not have causation. We don't have a comparison group in order to make that kind of determination. We'd have to have a comparison group of where all the people who have tested negative whether they voted or not," Willems Van Dijk said in a news briefing on Wednesday.

>>WUWM & NPR's Latest Coronavirus Coverage

DHS also reported the largest number of new positive COVID-19 cases in one day: 225.

Experts say more research is needed in order to tell if the cases are related to in-person voting on Election Day.

Willems Van Dijk says the state has been increasing testing and tracking of positive tests to better understand the spread of the coronavirus and to alert people who’ve been exposed that they should self-isolate.

Olivia Richardson
Olivia Richardson became WUWM's Eric Von Fellow in October 2019.
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