Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin state Sen. Andre Jacque was discharged Tuesday after a five-week hospital stay that included being intubated and placed on a ventilator due to pneumonia after contracting COVID-19.

“Sen. Jacque is doing much better,” his spokesman Matt Tompach said in a statement Tuesday. “He is in touch with his staff on legislative and district issues, and he is reaching out to his friends and colleagues.”

Jacque, a Republican and one of the Legislature’s most conservative members who fought vaccine and mask mandates, was hospitalized Aug. 16 after testing positive for the virus and testifying at a packed Capitol hearing. Jacque did not wear a mask at the hearing.

Jacque was intubated and placed on a ventilator Aug. 23. His office did not say how long he was ventilated. Placing COVID-19 patients on a ventilator is often the last option of treatment when a patient is struggling to breathe. Some patients who are placed on ventilators do recover. Jacque is continuing respiratory and occupational therapy, Tompach said.

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