County Executive Parisi Statement: Masks at State Legislature Inauguration

January 04, 2021
Ariana Vruwink, 608-267-8823
County Executive

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi issued the following statement regarding today's inauguration of the Wisconsin State Legislature, in which Republican leaders are not requiring masks:

"After 351,000 American deaths due to Covid-19, including over 5,200 right here in Wisconsin, it's unconscionable that leaders in the State Legislature are still sending mixed messages over the importance of masks. People look to leaders in moments of crisis for guidance and to set an example. Every opportunity Republican leaders have had to provide clarity in this pandemic, they've instead tried to politically appease a shrinking number of people in this state and country who remain in denial over this deadly pandemic. The result has been confusion, full hospitals, needless suffering for families, and a slower recovery than what should have been.

“A New Year should bring new opportunity and new hope, not more of the same politics that led to the mess this pandemic has become. Dane County is Wisconsin's second largest county, but we remain among the counties with the fewest per capita Covid-19 cases (58th of 72 Wisconsin Counties) because we embraced science from the get-go. The State Legislature should follow suit and send a clear message that needless sickness and death are no longer okay.”