Wisconsin Sets COVID-19 Testing Record, Another Hospitalization High
All 72 counties have COVID-19 cases for the first time.
COVID-19. Credit: U.S. Army.
Wisconsin blew past its one-day COVID-19 testing record by 42 percent on Thursday.
According to the Department of Health Services, 9,410 tests were processed in the past 24 hours, an increase of 2,819 over yesterday’s record high of 6,591. DHS reports the state has the capacity to process 14,140 tests per day.
The number of cases did not set a record high, with 472 new cases recorded, the third-highest total on record. A total of 13,885 Wisconsin residents have tested positive for the disease. DHS reports 58 percent have recovered, defined by a positive test over 30 days ago or a record of symptom abatement.
The percentage of tests coming back positive was 5.02 percent. “That’s a good percentage. That’s where we want to be,” said DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm of the percentage during a Thursday afternoon press briefing. “We want that to go as low as it can.” It is below the seven-day average of 6.03 percent and 14-day average of 6.23 percent.
But the number of hospitalizations is growing. A total of 57 people were newly hospitalized with the disease in the past 24 hours, a 30-day high and above the average of 35 since DHS began reporting the data daily on April 4th. It’s the second day in a row a new 30-day high has been recorded.
State officials say they’re monitoring the hospitalizations, but aren’t directly linking the cases to the Supreme Court ending the “Safer at Home” order.
“We generally think that the lag on hospitalizations is about three to five weeks,” said Palm. “Any uptick we are seeing in hospitalizations right now is not the result of Safer at Home ending.”
“It’s too early to say that the numbers we saw today and yesterday are part of a trend,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Chief Medical Officer at the DHS Bureau of Communicable Diseases. He said some people need hospitalization shortly after contracting the disease, but others could have few symptoms for weeks before getting worse.
Milwaukee County is the site of 5,556 of the 13,885 confirmed cases and 269 of the 487 deaths according to state data. That’s an increase of four deaths over yesterday as the statewide total went up by six.
Both Brown and Racine counties continue to have greater per capita outbreaks than Milwaukee.
Brown County, which is anchored by Green Bay, has 838 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 821.8 yesterday). Racine County has 596.7 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 570.6). Milwaukee County has 582.3 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 563.1).
Kenosha (547.1), Walworth (306.8), Rock (304.8), Kewaunee (157.2) and Grant (150.5) are the only other counties with more than 150 cases per 100,000 residents.
The statewide average of cases per 100,000 residents has risen to 240.3 (up from 232.1).
Statewide 398 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase of 46 over the past seven days. A total of 218 people are hospitalized with a COVID-19 test pending, an increase of 30 in the past week. Across the state, 16 percent of people confirmed to have the disease have required hospitalization.
There are currently 956 ventilators and 383 intensive care unit (ICU) beds available across the state according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association. Since the data became publicly available on April 10th, WHA has reported an average of 930 ventilators and 424 ICU beds as available.
Charts and Maps
Wisconsin COVID-19 summary
| Status | Number (%) of People as of 5/21/2020 |
|---|---|
| Negative Test Results | 163,238 |
| Positive Test Results | 13,885 |
| Hospitalizations | 2,218 (16%) |
| Deaths | 487 |
Percent of COVID-19 cases by hospitalization status
| Hospitalization status | Number of confirmed cases as of 5/21/2020 | Percent of confirmed cases as of 5/21/2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Ever hospitalized | 2,218 | 16% |
| Never hospitalized | 7,965 | 57% |
| Unknown | 3,702 | 27% |
| Total | 13,885 | 100% |
Summary of COVID-19 cases by age group
| Age Group (Years) | Cases as of 5/21/2020 | Ever hospitalized as of 5/21/2020 | Any Intensive Care as of 5/21/2020 | Deaths as of 5/21/2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <10 | 277 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 10-19 | 741 | 24 | 2 | 0 |
| 20-29 | 2,335 | 105 | 18 | 4 |
| 30-39 | 2,462 | 159 | 26 | 5 |
| 40-49 | 2,360 | 255 | 62 | 13 |
| 50-59 | 2,247 | 383 | 96 | 44 |
| 60-69 | 1,649 | 484 | 146 | 80 |
| 70-79 | 921 | 420 | 104 | 135 |
| 80-89 | 603 | 280 | 53 | 116 |
| 90+ | 290 | 97 | 19 | 90 |
| Total | 13,885 | 2,218 | 526 | 487 |
Percent of COVID-19 cases and deaths by gender
| Gender | Confirmed Cases as of 5/21/2020 | Deaths as of 5/21/2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Female | 51% | 42% |
| Male | 49% | 58% |
| Unknown | 0% | 0% |
| Total Number | 13,885 | 487 |
Confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths by race
| Race | Number of cases as of 5/21/2020 | Percent of cases as of 5/21/2020 | Number of deaths as of 5/21/2020 | Percent of deaths as of 5/21/2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian | 162 | 1% | 6 | 1% |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 523 | 4% | 12 | 2% |
| Black | 2,743 | 20% | 136 | 28% |
| White | 7,389 | 53% | 324 | 67% |
| Multiple or Other races | 1,584 | 11% | 2 | 0% |
| Unknown | 1,484 | 11% | 7 | 1% |
| Total | 13,885 | 100% | 487 | 100% |
Confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths by ethnicity
| Ethnicity | Number of cases as of 5/21/2020 | Percent of cases as of 5/21/2020 | Number of deaths as of 5/21/2020 | Percent of deaths as of 5/21/2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino | 4,413 | 32% | 40 | 8% |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 7,898 | 57% | 440 | 90% |
| Unknown | 1,574 | 11% | 7 | 1% |
| Total | 13,885 | 100% | 487 | 100% |
Number of positive cases and deaths by county
| Wisconsin County | Positive as of 5/21/2020 | Negative as of 5/21/2020 | Deaths as of 5/21/2020 | Rate (positive cases per 100,000 people) as of 5/21/2020 | Case fatality percentage (percent of cases who died) as of 5/21/2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 4 | 440 | 1 | 19.9 | 25% |
| Ashland | 2 | 335 | 0 | 12.7 | 0% |
| Barron | 11 | 1,424 | 0 | 24.3 | 0% |
| Bayfield | 3 | 350 | 1 | 20.0 | 33% |
| Brown | 2,177 | 10,298 | 29 | 838.0 | 1% |
| Buffalo | 5 | 538 | 1 | 38.0 | 20% |
| Burnett | 1 | 338 | 1 | 6.6 | 100% |
| Calumet | 61 | 1,109 | 1 | 122.5 | 2% |
| Chippewa | 45 | 1,926 | 0 | 70.7 | 0% |
| Clark | 29 | 606 | 4 | 84.1 | 14% |
| Columbia | 36 | 1,630 | 1 | 63.2 | 3% |
| Crawford | 24 | 635 | 0 | 147.3 | 0% |
| Dane | 576 | 20,671 | 26 | 108.7 | 5% |
| Dodge | 121 | 2,221 | 1 | 137.9 | 1% |
| Door | 34 | 691 | 3 | 123.9 | 9% |
| Douglas | 15 | 960 | 0 | 34.6 | 0% |
| Dunn | 20 | 1,632 | 0 | 44.9 | 0% |
| Eau Claire | 82 | 3,660 | 0 | 79.6 | 0% |
| Florence | 2 | 222 | 0 | 46.1 | 0% |
| Fond du Lac | 148 | 3,137 | 4 | 144.7 | 3% |
| Forest | 11 | 258 | 0 | 122.0 | 0% |
| Grant | 78 | 1,832 | 10 | 150.5 | 13% |
| Green | 49 | 959 | 0 | 132.9 | 0% |
| Green Lake | 12 | 489 | 0 | 64.0 | 0% |
| Iowa | 11 | 557 | 0 | 46.6 | 0% |
| Iron | 2 | 189 | 1 | 35.0 | 50% |
| Jackson | 15 | 753 | 1 | 73.1 | 7% |
| Jefferson | 67 | 1,908 | 2 | 79.1 | 3% |
| Juneau | 22 | 736 | 1 | 83.3 | 5% |
| Kenosha | 921 | 5,120 | 21 | 547.1 | 2% |
| Kewaunee | 32 | 478 | 1 | 157.2 | 3% |
| La Crosse | 47 | 3,931 | 0 | 39.9 | 0% |
| Lafayette | 16 | 400 | 0 | 95.6 | 0% |
| Langlade | 1 | 320 | 0 | 5.2 | 0% |
| Lincoln | 3 | 377 | 0 | 10.8 | 0% |
| Manitowoc | 28 | 1,336 | 1 | 35.3 | 4% |
| Marathon | 35 | 1,839 | 1 | 25.9 | 3% |
| Marinette | 28 | 1,521 | 2 | 69.1 | 7% |
| Marquette | 3 | 372 | 1 | 19.7 | 33% |
| Menominee | 2 | 315 | 0 | 43.7 | 0% |
| Milwaukee | 5,556 | 30,523 | 269 | 582.3 | 5% |
| Monroe | 16 | 1,655 | 1 | 35.2 | 6% |
| Oconto | 31 | 1,135 | 0 | 82.5 | 0% |
| Oneida | 7 | 575 | 0 | 19.8 | 0% |
| Outagamie | 161 | 4,766 | 5 | 87.1 | 3% |
| Ozaukee | 131 | 1,531 | 11 | 148.4 | 8% |
| Pepin | 1 | 314 | 0 | 13.8 | 0% |
| Pierce | 30 | 939 | 0 | 72.1 | 0% |
| Polk | 9 | 905 | 1 | 20.8 | 11% |
| Portage | 8 | 1,202 | 0 | 11.3 | 0% |
| Price | 2 | 220 | 0 | 14.8 | 0% |
| Racine | 1,166 | 6,236 | 20 | 596.7 | 2% |
| Richland | 14 | 489 | 4 | 79.8 | 29% |
| Rock | 493 | 4,708 | 14 | 304.8 | 3% |
| Rusk | 4 | 250 | 0 | 28.2 | 0% |
| Sauk | 77 | 2,332 | 3 | 121.1 | 4% |
| Sawyer | 7 | 693 | 0 | 42.8 | 0% |
| Shawano | 36 | 1,098 | 0 | 87.8 | 0% |
| Sheboygan | 76 | 2,114 | 3 | 66.0 | 4% |
| St. Croix | 57 | 1,868 | 0 | 64.8 | 0% |
| Taylor | 1 | 260 | 0 | 4.9 | 0% |
| Trempealeau | 13 | 1,060 | 0 | 44.2 | 0% |
| Vernon | 13 | 862 | 0 | 42.6 | 0% |
| Vilas | 5 | 310 | 0 | 23.2 | 0% |
| Walworth | 316 | 2,417 | 11 | 306.8 | 3% |
| Washburn | 2 | 383 | 0 | 12.7 | 0% |
| Washington | 171 | 2,586 | 4 | 127.1 | 2% |
| Waukesha | 527 | 8,276 | 24 | 132.1 | 5% |
| Waupaca | 19 | 1,094 | 1 | 36.9 | 5% |
| Waushara | 7 | 586 | 0 | 29.0 | 0% |
| Winnebago | 141 | 3,932 | 1 | 83.0 | 1% |
| Wood | 9 | 1,406 | 0 | 12.3 | 0% |
| Total | 13,885 | 163,238 | 487 | 240.3 | 4% |
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