US groups to protest Wisconsin's extended home stay

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - A rally is being organized in the U.S. state of Wisconsin to protest governor's decision to extend stay-at-home order intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

ReOpen Wisconsin and Wisconsinites Against Excessive Quarantine groups are leading the gathering scheduled for April 24, the original end date of the lockdown, a local NBC News affiliate reported Thursday.

"Government mandating sick people to stay home is called quarantine. However, the government mandating healthy citizens to stay home, forcing businesses and churches to close is called tyranny," Reopen Wisconsin said in a statement, according to TMJ4.

"It is not sustainable to continue this lockdown as the economic and societal consequences will be irreversible," it added.

The move came after Governor Tony Evers extended the stay-at-home order until May 26 and closed schools for the rest of the academic year.

"A few weeks ago, we had a pretty grim outlook for what COVID-19 could mean for our state, but safer at home is working, folks," Evers also said on Twitter. "Our data shows we have saved lives and we have helped flatten the curve, which has resulted in fewer cases and hospitalizations."

In Wisconsin, there are nearly 4,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 200 deaths, according to a running tally by the Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. has more than 672,200 coronavirus cases and 33,300 deaths as of Friday. Over 56,200 have recovered from the disease.

On Wednesday, Michigan state became the scene of a protest that took place in front of the statehouse, with dozens of protestors demanding an end to the quarantine.

Overall, the virus has spread to 185 countries, infecting more than 2.1 million patients, and killing more than 147,600 worldwide since it first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.