State reports 3,046 new cases, 36 new deaths
Wisconsin reported 3,046 new COVID-19 cases and 36 more people have died, according to the state Department of Health Services.
While the weekly average of new cases is still far below the peak of around 6,500 cases recorded in November, it is on the rise since hitting a low point of 1,882 on Dec. 26
Number hospitalized: 1,002 (intensive care: 222); down 533 patients from one month ago
Seven-day average of daily cases: 2,996 (down 857 cases from one month ago)
Seven-day average of daily deaths: 41 (down 14 from one month ago)
The average positivity rate — firsttime positive tests over the last seven days — was 30.3% Saturday.
Total cases since the start of pandemic: 505,058
Total deaths: 5,155
Key takeaways
This week, Wisconsin passed 5,000 COVID-19 deaths and 500,000 confirmed cases of the virus.
The accumulation of new deaths and cases has slowed — another indicator that cases are generally down from Wisconsin’s mid-November peak.
The state recorded the most recent 1,000 deaths in 25 days, hitting the milestone on Wednesday.
It took about five months for the first 1,000 Wisconsin residents to die from COVID-19. By Halloween, the state had reached 2,000 deaths. Then, three weeks later, on Nov. 21, Wisconsin hit 3,000 COVID-19 deaths. On Dec. 12, the state passed 4,000.
On Friday, Wisconsin passed 500,000 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, the most recent 100,000 reported in the last 35 days.
It took more than seven months for Wisconsin to record its first 100,000 cases, then only 36 days to notch the second 100,000 and 18 days to hit the third. The fourth batch of 100,000 cases was added in 21 days.
Since the beginning of the pandemic last year, more than 370,000 people in the U.S. have died due to COVID-19 and more than 21.9 million have tested positive. Globally, there are more than 89 million cases and 1.9 million people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.