MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee city and health leaders are working to ensure residents’ safety with a local order that requires bars and restaurants to submit a COVID-19 safety plan to the health department to operate.

On Tuesday, Gov. Tony Evers announced his new executive order will go into effect Oct. 8 - Nov. 6 throughout the state. It limits indoors public gatherings in bars and restauransts to no more than 25 percent of a room or building’s total occupancy. Under the order, local municipalities are permitted to have orders that are more restrictive than the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Order.

The City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee Health Department created the Moving Milwaukee Forward Safely Order, which provides a phased approach at combatting the pandemic. The Moving Milwaukee Forward Safely local order requires restaurants and bars to submit an 80-point COVID checklist to the Health Department to operate. The checklist requires businesses to implement hygiene, cleaning, and protective measures, policies, and procedures.

Under the order, businesses are required to facilitate remote work to the greatest extent possible and ensure individuals remain six feet from others whenever possible. The Milwaukee 

After review of both orders, the City of Milwaukee Health Department determined that the Moving Milwaukee Forward Safely Order is more restrictive than Evers' order, and that all businesses and individuals within the City of Milwaukee should continue to adhere to the Moving Milwaukee Forward Safely Order.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Milwaukee County reported 30,818 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.