MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on the coronavirus outbreak in Wisconsin (all times local):
12:10 p.m.
Unemployment claims in Wisconsin since the coronavirus outbreak hit a daily high on Monday, with more than 24,600 people filing for benefits.
That brings the total number of preliminary unemployment filings since March 15 to nearly 222,000. That is 17-times higher then roughly 13,000 claims that were filed over the same period last year.
The state Department of Workforce Development said that last week it received more than 1.5 million calls, including more than 160 per-second at times on Thursday.
The agency is asking people filing for unemployment benefits to do it online rather than over the phone. The department said it is working to increase staff and technology capacity to deal with the flood in calls.
Gov. Tony Evers has said the agency needs at least 80 more workers to handle the increase in calls. Evers and Republicans who control the Legislature are working on an aid package for the state to help deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
