Wisconsin reports 84 more COVID-19 deaths and 3,675 new cases
Wisconsin reported Saturday that 84 more people have died due to COVID-19, the fourth highest daily total of deaths reported.
According to the state Department of Health Services, the most deaths reported in a single day was 107 on Dec. 1. On Nov. 24, the state reported 104 deaths, and a week earlier, on Nov. 17, 92 people were reported to have died.
New cases reported: 3,675
New deaths reported: 84
Number hospitalized (as of Friday): 1,330 (intensive care: 290); down 887 patients from one month ago
Seven-day average of daily cases: 3,047 (down 3,393 cases from one month ago)
Seven-day average of daily deaths: 51 (down 1 from one month ago)
The average positivity rate — firsttime positive tests over the last seven days — was 26.9% Saturday.
Total cases since the start of pandemic: 455,351 (38,892 active cases)
Total deaths: 4,399
Key takeaways
Health care workers around the state began receiving the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this week. The Moderna vaccine was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use Friday night. Shipments of the Moderna vaccine will arrive to states on Monday, according to USA TODAY.
New daily cases have been on the decline since hitting their peak of nearly 8,000 about a month ago. The number of deaths, however, has remained steady. The weekly average of deaths has been about 40 since Nov. 9.
Contact tracers across the state are now able to handle their caseloads after being overwhelmed by cases in October and November, DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm said in a news conference Thursday.
The state is getting ready to roll out an app — called WI Exposure Notification — that would alert Wisconsinites if they’ve been close to a person who’s tested positive for COVID-19. Use of the app is voluntary.