State reports 900 more COVID-19 cases and 6 children who got rare inflammatory condition
Wisconsin health officials reported 900 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, as well as six confirmed cases of a rare inflammatory disease that the coronavirus seems to have triggered in some children.
The average number of new confirmed cases over the past seven days rose to 817 — more than the state had previously announced in any one day.
And while the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 stayed level even as new case numbers began to shoot up in late June, it increased from 235 on July 4 to 308 on Thursday, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association.
“The news is mostly bad,” said Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer of the Bureau of Communicable Diseases, in a Thursday afternoon briefing with reporters. “We are in a bad position. The trend is going in the wrong direction.”
Of nearly 14,300 test results reported Thursday, 6.3% were positive, up slightly from 5.9% on Wednesday but down from 10.1% on Sunday. In total, 39,627 Wisconsin residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
The virus has killed 831 people in the state, including four more deaths reported by the Department of Health Services on Thursday. Eighty-eight COVID-19 patients were in intensive care, according to the WHA — no change from Wednesday.
Much of the recent growth in confirmed cases has been driven by 20-somethings, and interim state health officer Stephanie Smiley said Thursday that there’s evidence that age group has had increased contact with people outside of the household.
Through contact tracing investigations of 20-somethings who tested positive, public health officials learned that 30% had recently attended a gathering or met up with people, Smiley said, compared to 12% in May and 7% in April. Less than 1% had attended a protest.
“We’re encouraging you to take every step that you can to stop the virus,” Smiley said. “If you can stay home, please do so. Limit your trips to the essentials.”
Westergaard worried that the number of 20-somethings infected was the “tip of the iceberg,” because many who were being tested were symptomatic, and younger people who get the disease are more likely to have mild or no symptoms.
Westergaard also said Thursday that six Wisconsin children have now had confirmed cases of multi-system inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, a rare but serious condition that can inflame parts of the body, including the heart, lungs and brain.
“It’s not known exactly what causes MIS-C, but it appears to be triggered by COVID-19 infection,” Westergaard said.
Westergaard said there had been more suspected cases — Children’s Wisconsin identified seven such cases in May — but DHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical providers were only able to confirm these six. Four are children under age 10 and two are 10 to 15 years old. All were hospitalized when first diagnosed but four have since returned home, he said.
According to the University of Michigan Health Lab, MIS-C symptoms include a high fever lasting at least four days, rash, peeling hands and feet, deeply red eyes and abdominal pain.