Dear President Trump:

As physicians in Wisconsin, we urge you to cancel your rallies in Green Bay and Janesville on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020, as COVID-19 ravages our state.

Data shows that COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly in Wisconsin. More than 122,000 people have been sickened in Wisconsin and 1,300 individuals have lost their lives since the first case was confirmed in our state on Feb 5. Nationally, Green Bay is among the Top 10 areas experiencing the worst COVID-19 outbreaks this week. Green Bay hospitals are nearing capacity. Based on the Harvard Global Health Institute, Rock County, where Janesville is located, is experiencing enough cases per 100,000 people to warrant a stay-at-home order. Brown and Rock counties, the counties you plan to visit Saturday, face imminent COVID-19 outbreaks.

Since Sept. 1, you have held more than 20 campaign rallies. Health officials blamed your June indoor rally in Tulsa, Okla., for a surge in positive cases in the state. That rally was also linked to the death of former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who attended your event. From everything we have seen, your rallies attract large crowds and the overwhelming majority of attendees do not observe safety behaviors such as wearing masks, further increasing the risk of disease transmission and community infection spread. We fear your Wisconsin events will be no different.

We are frontline health workers who experience and understand the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating impact on Wisconsin families. More than anything, we are deeply concerned that your rallies could be superspreader infection events that will make more people sick, put more lives in danger and increase pain and suffering for Wisconsin families, who are already suffering amid mass sickness, death and job losses.

We urge you to cancel your rallies as your own COVID-19 task force advises maximum social distancing in Wisconsin. Hospital systems such as Bellin Health System in Green Bay, which will host one rally, are reporting they are nearly full and running out of capacity even as cases spike.

Please, for the sake of the health, safety and security of Wisconsin families and communities, cancel your two rallies in our state this Saturday and focus your energies on implementing a robust, science-based national COVID-19 pandemic response plan that can protect Americans and see us through this terrible pandemic.

Signed:

Dr. Bob Freedland, MD; Ophthalmologist & Committee to Protect Wisconsin State Lead (La Crosse, WI)

Dr. Ann Helms, MD, MS; Neurologist (Brookfield, WI)

Dr. Sacha Ramirez, MD; Hospitalist (Milwaukee, WI)

Dr. Paul Stiegler, MD; Emergency Physician (Middleton, WI)

Dr. Stacy Syrcle, MD; OB/GYN (Milwaukee, WI)

Dr. John Campbell, MD, PhD, FCCP; Pulmonologist (Marshfield, WI)

Dr. Karen Chao, MD; Pediatrician (Milwaukee, WI)

Dr. Roger Cohen, MD; Surgeon (Fox Point, WI)

Dr. William Hocking, MD; Oncologist (Marshfield, WI)

Dr. Jeffrey Kushner, MD; Cardiologist (Verona, WI)

Dr. Allan Levin, MD; Neurosurgeon (Middleton, WI)

Dr. Joseph Budovec, MD; Radiologist (Brookfield, WI)

Dr. Richard Harbecke, MD; Pulmonologist (Mequon, WI)

Dr. David Lang, MD; Family Physician (Couderay, WI)

Dr. Michael Lutes, MD; Emergency Physician (Waunakee, WI)

Dr. Peter Fischer, MD; Psychiatrist (DePere, WI)

Dr. Joanne Pasiuk, MD; General Surgeon (Fon du Lac, WI)

Dr. Praveen Goday, MD; Pediatrician (Brookfield, WI)

Dr. Lisa Brinn, MD; Family Physician (Blue Mounds, WI)

Dr. Lonnie Simmons, MD; Diagnostic Imaging (La Crosse, WI)

Dr. Laurel Mark, MD; Internal Medicine (Madison, WI)

Dr. Jeff Huebner, MD; Family Physician (Madison, WI)

Dr. Scott Walker, MD; Family Physician (Prairie Du Chien, WI)

Dr. Michelle Douglas, MD; OB/GYN (Milwaukee, WI)

Dr. Jesse Maupin, MD; Internal Medicine (Madison, WI)

Dr. Lisa Kokontis, MD; Neurologist (Appleton, WI)

Dr. Steve Kagen, MD; Allergist/Immunologist (Appleton, WI)

Dr. Marin Darsie, MD; Emergency Physician (Madison, WI)

Dr. James Darsie, MD; Emergency Physician (Madison, WI)

Dr. R. Eric Lilly, MD; Cardiothoracic Surgeon (Fon du Lac, WI)

Dr. Daniel Perrault, MD; Emergency Physician (Greendale, WI)