Wisconsin added to a list of states ‘trending poorly’
464 new cases reported, with positive test percentage rising
Wisconsin’s health department reported 464 more positive coronavirus tests on Thursday, as confirmed cases continue to tick slightly upward despite leveledoff testing.
Thursday’s positivity rate — 4.1% of all tests — still pales in comparison with early May’s double-digit totals. But epidemiologists consider the percent positive number to be a key indicator of changes in the disease’s spread, and it has recently increased throughout much of the U.S.
On Wednesday, Department of Health Services officials rated Wisconsin’s recent coronavirus activity as “high,” and on Thursday, covidexitstrategy.org — which tracks states’ progress using popular public health gating criteria — added Wisconsin to a list of 30 states that were “trending poorly.”
The state until recently had been one of a handful of states “trending better” and was something of a success story — with declining spread despite the state Supreme Court’s rejection of Gov. Tony Evers’ stayhome order, an in-person election and widespread social justice protests.
Between June 5 and June 17, Wisconsin’s percent positive was below 3% all but one day, with an average of 274 new positive cases in 10,456 new tests.
In the eight days, since, the percentage of positive tests has been higher than 3% in six of eight days, and there has been an average of more cases (347) in fewer tests (9,699).
Thursday’s new case total was the highest since June 4, and the seven-day rolling average of new cases reached 335, the highest since June 9.
Nine more deaths due to COVID-19 were also reported by the state Thursday, bringing the total to 766.
Despite the increase in cases, hospitalizations are lower than they were in early June.
There were 246 inpatients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses as of Thursday morning, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association, an increase of eight compared with Wednesday. But the number of inpatients awaiting COVID-19 test results fell by 26, to 134 — the lowest level since the WHA began reporting hospital data in early April.
Ninety-four COVID-19 patients were in intensive care, a one-day increase of five and a one-week increase of 12.
Globally, the U.S. accounted for 2.4 million of 9.5 million confirmed cases and 122,000 of 484,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
As of Wednesday, Wisconsin as a whole was rated by the state health department as having a “high” coronavirus activity level based on newly reported cases and their recent trends.
County ratings on Wednesday were as follows:
High: Brown, Clark, Dane, Eau Claire, Grant, Jefferson, Kenosha, La Crosse, Lafayette, Manitowoc, Marathon, Milwaukee, Monroe, Outagamie, Portage, Racine, Rock, Trempealeau, Walworth, Waukesha,
Waupaca and Winnebago.
Medium: Adams, Barron, Calumet, Chippewa, Columbia, Crawford, Dodge, Florence, Fond du Lac, Forest, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jackson, Juneau, Kewaunee, Langlade, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Ozaukee, Pierce, Polk, Rusk, St. Croix, Sauk, Shawano, Sheboygan, Taylor, Vernon, Washington, Waushara and Wood.
Low: Ashland, Bayfield, Buffalo, Burnett, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Iron, Lincoln, Pepin, Price, Richland, Sawyer, Vilas and Washburn.