Miller Park will become main COVID-19 test site as Guard moves out

MILWAUKEE - With the Milwaukee Brewers' season over, it was announced Tuesday, Oct. 6 that Miller Park will be transformed into Milwaukee's main testing hub for COVID-19. Milwaukee's Custer Stadium testing site on the city's north side and the testing site at UMOS on Milwaukee's south side will be shut down. According to city and county leaders and the Wisconsin National Guard, this is an effort to increase testing capacity. 

The National Guard will move out of Custer Stadium and UMOS Saturday, Oct. 17, with the end of the Brewers' season marking a new opportunity for Milwaukee to beat COVID-19. 

The new central hub for drive-up COVID-19 testing opens at Miller Park Oct. 19.

"Always pleased to be able to provide the access that Miller Park does give to our residents for this testing site," said Rick Schlesinger, president of business operations for the Brewers.

Mayor Tom Barrett

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said demand for testing has been rising, and now, employees hired by the city will be stepping in to help.

"We want to make sure that what we're doing is be able to have a site where people from around the city and from the surrounding areas can utilize," said Mayor Barrett.

According to the mayor, the two existing sites run by members of the National Guard will be shutting down as citizen soldiers prepare to move to other parts of the state.

"The Wisconsin National Guard is going to be transitioning the enduring sites in Milwaukee and Madison and Fox Valley to civilian control of those sites, which will free up additional resources from the National Guard to be able to offer more testing statewide," said Major Joe Trovato with the Wisconsin National Guard.

Testing will become available at the city's northwest and south side health centers, as well as Miller Park -- free and available to anyone. The mayor says the transition will increase daily capacity from 2,000 to 2,800 tests daily. 

"This will result in even more testing capacity, which is something we think is very important," he said.

As cases continue to rise, the health commissioner said Tuesday she is not recommending or supporting trick-or-treating in the city this year. 

Governor Tony Evers Tuesday directed the state Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm to issue an emergency order limiting public gatherings to no more than 25% of a room or building’s total occupancy effective Oct. 8 through Nov. 6.

This, as DHS officials reported 2,020 new positive cases of COVID-19 in the state Tuesday, along with 18 new deaths. 

According to DHS’ Disease Activity dashboard and as of Sept. 30, 2020, 45 of Wisconsin counties meet the threshold of a very high disease activity level, which means that there are more than 350 cases per 100,000 people in that county. All other counties reported high case activity levels.

"This means Wisconsinites should assume they will likely be exposed to the virus if they leave home and should practice all safety precautions," DHS officials said.