WI daily COVID tally hit 3,022. Italy last saw that # in April.

Comparative COVID-19 data I recently posted showed Wisconsin faring poorly right now matched up against the much more populous State of New York and the entire nation of Canada.

Consider another contrasting state-to-nation data trend that frames the pandemic's spike here.

Begin with Wisconsin new daily COVID-19 report of 3,022 cases on October 3rd.

Now go back to the spring, when Italy -

- was the virus's global hotspot before its strict and effective lockdown.

The new case data for Italy shows it has not reported a total equalling Wisconsin's October 3rd record of 3,022 since April 24.

While Italy dramatically flattened a virus data curve that is beginning to rise again, and may surpass Wisconsin's, Italy's recent daily case totals trail Wisconsin's while having more than ten times Wisconsin's population - 60.43 million to our 5.85 million.

Yet the Wisconsin Republican Party which controls the Legislature and has fought Gov. Eves' masking and 'Safer-at-Home' pandemic-mitigating orders is again in court working against him.

Republican legislative leaders went to court Friday to show support for a lawsuit against Gov. Tony Evers' statewide mask mandate after more than 17,000 people in Wisconsin tested positive in the last week and some hospitals are on the brink of being overwhelmed.

You cannot say loudly enough that Republican 'leadership' in Washington, DC and in Wisconsin during the pandemic has been a colossal and deadly failure.