Thousands of people took to the polls during the coronavirus pandemic earlier this month after the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Governor Tony Evers’ executive order to delay the spring presidential primary and local general election. Now, the possible medical effects of going to the polls may be revealed.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services tells WTMJ news partner TMJ4 News that 19 people who had gone to the polls or worked at the April 7 election were found to have contracted the virus after further testing.
The state said there is no direct way to guarantee that they contracted the virus because they went to the polls.
“Public health officials continue to interview people who have tested positive with COVID-19 and query whether someone has reported voting in person or working at the polls. Since we only have data on positive cases (without a comparison group of people who were not tested or tested negative), there is no way to know with certainty if any exposures at the polls that are reported are in fact attributable to COVID-19 illness,” Wisconsin DHS told TMJ4 News.