COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations continuing to decline in Wisconsin
As the number of new COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin continues to decline from the state’s peak in the fall, hospitals across the state are seeing fewer COVID-19 patients as well.
Toward the end of 2020, Wisconsin hospitals reported being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. The state opened an alternate care facility in October at the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds to serve as an overflow facility for hospitals across the state.
There were no people receiving inpatient care at the facility as of Saturday morning, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. In total, 170 people have been cared for at the facility.
As of Friday, the Wisconsin Hospital Association reported 785 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized, with 178 of them in intensive care. That’s 489 fewer hospitalized COVID-19 patients than a month ago, and significantly fewer than the state’s peak hospitalization of 2,277 people on Nov. 17.
At the peak of the state’s coronavirus outbreak in mid-November, about 6,500 new infections were reported daily. After that, the number of new cases began falling, until a few days after Christmas. On Jan. 9, the state’s sevenday average of new cases rose to almost 3,000.
Since then, confirmed cases have been declining and the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases reported Saturday by the state health department is at its lowest since September.
New cases reported: 1,681
New deaths reported: 42
Number hospitalized (as of Friday): 785 (intensive care: 178); down 489 patients from one month ago
Seven-day average of daily cases: 1,666 (down 1,019 cases from one month ago)
Seven-day average of daily deaths: 34 (down 26 from one month ago)
The average positivity rate — firsttime positive tests over the last seven days — was 21.2% Saturday.
Total cases since the start of pandemic: 531,852
Total deaths: 5,685
Key takeaways
More than 300,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in the state as of Friday, according to the state health department.
About 56,000 people have received both doses, meaning they are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Of those vaccinated, 71% have been women. About 50,000 people ages 35 to 44 have received at least one dose of the vaccine — the most of any age group in Wisconsin.
According to Johns Hopkins University, January has been the deadliest month of the pandemic in the United States.
On Saturday, the university reported 87,716 coronavirus deaths in the U.S. That’s about 10,000 more than in all of December, the country’s previous deadliest month.
The U.S. has reported nearly 6.3 million new cases so far this month.