State deaths due to coronavirus pass 700
Deaths due to COVID-19 in Wisconsin surpassed 700 on Tuesday, while the percent of new tests that were positive for the coronavirus continued to trend downward.
Nine newly reported deaths brought the Department of Health Services’ official total to 703.
Of deaths due to the virus:
55% were men, even though women have accounted for a slight majority of confirmed cases.
87% were 60 or older, and 19% were 90 or older.
24% were Black, or four times the percent of state residents who are Black, and 11% were Hispanic or Latino, though only 7% of the state’s population is.
42% were living in long-term care facilities.
Wisconsin health officials reported 266 newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus Tuesday out of more than 11,000 tests, a rate of 2.4% positive. Total, the state has seen 23,198 confirmed cases.
That’s less than half the cumulative percent positive since the state began testing, and the lowest rate in a week.
Milwaukee County has a total of 9,678 cases of COVID-19 and 322 individuals have died from the disease, health officials said. Hispanic residents make up nearly 40% of the total.
Additionally, on Tuesday, a coalition of county, city and local community partners launched the We Care Crew, which will offer resources to communities of color affected by COVID-19 and racism, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said. At several local parks, the crew will distribute face masks, meals and resource bags and will share education on public health.
There were 275 patients in Wisconsin hospitals with confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association — the lowest total since April 3. Of those, 100 patients were in intensive care.
Another 194 inpatients were awaiting test results.
Worldwide, confirmed cases have surpassed 8 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, and 438,000 had died. More than 2.1 million cases and 116,000 deaths have been in the U.S.