State reports more than 2,500 new coronavirus cases

Wisconsin reported more than 2,500 new coronavirus cases on Friday, clocking in just below the state’s all-time high — a record set seven days prior.

And it also logged the highest number of people hospitalized with the virus since the pandemic began. About 200 more people were in hospital beds with the virus on Friday compared to seven days prior.

Cases and hospitalizations in Wisconsin have skyrocketed throughout September, with record highs frequently topped and broken as the virus rampages across the state.

Friday’s count of 2,504 new cases knocked from second place Thursday’s report of 2,392 cases.

The state Department of Health Services also reported 12,575 negative tests Friday, for a positivity rate of 16.6%.

That rate was representative of the state’s performance in the last week: the average positivity rate over the last seven days was 16.5%.

The state also reported nine deaths, bringing the death toll to 1,274.

The number of people hospitalized with the virus in Wisconsin has taken a steep upward trajectory over the last week. The state counted 543 hospitalized virus patients on Friday compared with 342 patients last Friday.

Hospitalization numbers have broken record highs for the last four days straight.

On Friday, 147 coronavirus patients were in ICUs across the state, up nearly 50 patients from a week prior.

Twenty-somethings on Friday continued to report the highest number of cases of any age group, but their growth also slowed the most week over week, reporting only 3% more cases this week compared with last.

The largest change came from children under 10 years old, a group that saw 77% more cases this week compared with last.

Most age groups reported increases of about 40% to 50% week over week — indicating that while young adults may have driven transmission of the virus early in the month, people of all ages are feeling the consequences of the surge in recent days.

Virus hotspots continued to be focused largely in northeast Wisconsin, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel data.

More than 1.4 million people have been tested statewide for the virus. Of the 105,932 Wisconsinites who have tested positive:

83.4%, or 92,366, have “recovered” by DHS standards, meaning there is documented proof their symptoms have resolved or it’s been 30 days since their diagnosis.

15.5%, or 17,170, are considered “active,” meaning they aren’t recovered and haven’t died.

Global cases surpassed 32.3 million as of mid-Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 7 million of those cases and 203,329 deaths were in the United States.