Judge: Strip clubs should be eligible for emergency loans linked to COVID-19 pandemic | Economic news

MILWAUKEE – A judge has said four Wisconsin strip clubs should be eligible to receive emergency loans offered by the federal government to offset losses due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman issued a preliminary injunction on Friday in favor of the owners of four Silk Exotic Gentleman’s Clubs in Milwaukee and Middleton, whose loan applications were rejected on the basis of the sexual nature of the businesses.

The Small Business Administration’s paycheck protection program is designed to cover salaries and other expenses for eight weeks, while stay-at-home orders prevent normal business operations.

Adelman concluded that the plaintiffs would likely succeed in arguing that their business, while sexual in nature, is not lascivious and that the regulations violate the First Amendment and due process rights, the Journal Sentinel reported.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin health officials confirmed 346 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total to 7,660. There were seven new deaths, or a total of 334, the Department of Health Services reported. state health.

The Cudahy health department reported on Friday that 85 workers at the Patrick Cudahy / Smithfield Foods meat packing plant in Cudahy have tested positive for COVID-19.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, which go away within two to three weeks.

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