Mariah Clark is many things. She’s a blacksmith, a tall-ship sailor and an EMT. She’s also an emergency room nurse at UW Health in Madison, placing her on the frontlines of the pandemic in Dane County.

A little more than two weeks after Wisconsin's April 7 election went forward with in-person voting, 19 voters and poll workers who participated have tested positive for COVID-19, although where they were exposed to the disease remains uncertain.

The state Department of Health Services announced April 22 that there were 4,845 positive cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, a jump of 225 cases from the day before.

How can the economic impacts of the 1918 influenza pandemic inform understanding about COVID-19's effects? UW-Madison economist Tessa Conroy discusses the differences between each crisis, including how the current unprecedented level of federal stimulus fits into the picture.