Wisconsin sets another record for new coronavirus cases with 964
Wisconsin’s top health official urged residents to “double down” on precautions Tuesday, as new data again painted a dire picture of the COVID-19 spread through the state.
For the fourth time in a week, the Department of Health Services reported a record single-day increase in new coronavirus cases, with 964. The old record, 926, was set Saturday.
Of 37,906 confirmed cases since the pandemic began, nearly a fourth (9,247) have come since the start of July, and 5,350 have come in the past week.
Unlike case increases in past months, “these numbers are not the result of more testing,” said DHS Secretary Andrea Palm while briefing reporters Tuesday.
Nearly 6.6% of newly reported tests were positive for the coronavirus, down from 7.5% Monday and 10.1% on Sunday but still higher than the overall percentage since testing began (5.3%).
“These numbers are the result of significant community spread here in Wisconsin,” Palm said, imploring people to “double down on protecting our families and communities,” in part by staying home if they feel sick, and getting tested.
After two days in which no new deaths were reported by DHS, six deaths were reported Tuesday, bringing the pandemic’s toll to 826 lives lost in Wisconsin.
There were 293 people in Wisconsin hospitals with known cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association. That’s up 10 from Monday and the most since June 11, though still well below peaks of 400-plus in April and late May.
Eighty-three of those patients were in intensive care, down two from Monday, and 147 more inpatients were awaiting COVID-19 test results.