Wisconsin Reports Biggest One-Day COVID-19 Case Increase
But no new deaths and hospitalizations fall to three month low.
COVID-19. Credit: U.S. Army.
Wisconsin set a new single-day high for the number of new COVID-19 cases confirmed, but also saw no new deaths and the number of people actively hospitalized fall to a three-month low according to data released Saturday.
A total of 738 Wisconsin residents were newly-confirmed to have the disease in the past 24 hours according to data from the state Department of Health Services. It’s the largest total ever recorded in a single day, eclipsing an earlier high of 733 set on May 29th.
But the two days represent drastically different testing results. On May 29th the state had set a new high in the number of tests processed at 13,602. The percent of tests that came back positive, the positive case rate, was 5.39 percent.
Data released July 4th shows that only 6,822 tests were processed this time, below the 30-day average of 9,981. As a result, the positive case rate of 10.82 percent was more than double the May 29th rate.
The data comes as DHS has now reported 16-straight days of the disease’s spread accelerating via the two-day positive case rate. It’s the first time the state has recorded five days in a row with greater than 500 newly confirmed cases.
The seven-day positive case rate climbed to 5.57 percent and the 14-day figure stands at 4.95 percent. The latter was last higher on June 2nd.
A total of 31,055 Wisconsin residents have now been confirmed to have the disease. DHS reports that 79 percent of individuals with a confirmed case have “recovered,” as defined by a documented abatement of symptoms or a diagnosis over 30 days ago.
And while three percent of individuals with a confirmed case have died, no new deaths were confirmed Saturday. The statewide total stands at 796, with a 30-day average of 5.67 deaths. In the 30 days prior an average of 9.1 deaths were recorded.
And the same day that new cases hit an all-time high, active hospitalizations hit a low not seen since April 2nd. As of Saturday afternoon there were 235 people hospitalized with the disease. Nineteen people were newly hospitalized in the past 24 hours.
How is there a surge in cases and a decline in deaths and hospitalizations?
“It is now well-understood that the risk of serious illness requiring hospitalization is lower for younger adults,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Chief Medical Officer of the DHS Bureau of Communicable Diseases, via email in mid-June. For much of the past month a growing proportion of new cases have been confirmed in individuals under the age of 40. Individuals aged 20 to 29 represent the greatest number of cases.
DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm and Westergaard have also noted in press briefings that deaths and hospitalizations are lagging indicators of the spread of a disease. When someone is newly confirmed with the disease it may take three to five weeks for them to need hospitalization.
The City of Milwaukee’s weekly measurement of five disease indicators found a regression this week in the city’s fight against the disease and a weekly Milwaukee County epidemiological report confirmed a rapid increase in the number of cases in the county’s younger residents.
The disease’s spread remains greatest in Milwaukee on both a total number and per-capita basis.
According to DHS data, 1,266.3 out of every 100,000 Milwaukee County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 (up from 1,239) since the outbreak began. Brown County, which is anchored by Green Bay, has 1,153.6 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 1,142.5). Racine County has 1,123.9 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 1,122.8).
Kenosha (935.1), Walworth (657.2), Rock (554.5), Dodge (544.6), Lafayette (454.1), Trempealeau (438.2), Dane (434.7), La Crosse (432.8), Forest (432.5) and Winnebago (412.5) are the only other counties with more than 350 cases per 100,000 residents.
The statewide average of cases per 100,000 residents rose to 537.4 (up from 524.7 yesterday)
There are currently 979 ventilators and 365 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 944 ventilators and 393 ICU beds as available.
Charts and Maps
Data from DHS.
Percent of COVID-19 cases by hospitalization status
| Hospitalization status | Number of confirmed cases as of 7/4/2020 | Percent of confirmed cases as of 7/4/2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Ever hospitalized | 3,574 | 12% |
| Never hospitalized | 18,050 | 58% |
| Unknown | 9,431 | 30% |
| Total | 31,055 | 100% |
Summary of COVID-19 cases by age group
Data from DHS.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths by gender
Data from DHS.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths by race
Data from DHS.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths by ethnicity
Data from DHS.
Number of positive cases and deaths by county
| Wisconsin County | Positive as of 7/4/2020 | Negative as of 7/4/2020 | Deaths as of 7/4/2020 | Rate (positive cases per 100,000 people) as of 7/4/2020 | Case fatality percentage (percent of cases who died) as of 7/4/2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 27 | 1,639 | 2 | 134.5 | 7% |
| Ashland | 3 | 898 | 0 | 19.1 | 0% |
| Barron | 36 | 3,840 | 1 | 79.6 | 3% |
| Bayfield | 3 | 1,117 | 1 | 20.0 | 33% |
| Brown | 2,997 | 32,811 | 42 | 1153.6 | 1% |
| Buffalo | 8 | 1,016 | 2 | 60.8 | 25% |
| Burnett | 4 | 916 | 1 | 26.2 | 25% |
| Calumet | 117 | 3,661 | 2 | 234.9 | 2% |
| Chippewa | 99 | 5,278 | 0 | 155.6 | 0% |
| Clark | 86 | 2,227 | 7 | 249.3 | 8% |
| Columbia | 94 | 6,150 | 1 | 165.0 | 1% |
| Crawford | 41 | 2,471 | 0 | 251.7 | 0% |
| Dane | 2,303 | 72,151 | 32 | 434.7 | 1% |
| Dodge | 478 | 11,050 | 5 | 544.6 | 1% |
| Door | 44 | 2,897 | 3 | 160.4 | 7% |
| Douglas | 39 | 2,423 | 0 | 89.9 | 0% |
| Dunn | 42 | 3,667 | 0 | 94.4 | 0% |
| Eau Claire | 279 | 8,447 | 1 | 270.9 | 0% |
| Florence | 4 | 437 | 0 | 92.2 | 0% |
| Fond du Lac | 318 | 10,311 | 6 | 310.8 | 2% |
| Forest | 39 | 591 | 3 | 432.5 | 8% |
| Grant | 172 | 5,798 | 13 | 331.9 | 8% |
| Green | 94 | 3,044 | 1 | 255.0 | 1% |
| Green Lake | 37 | 1,750 | 0 | 197.3 | 0% |
| Iowa | 36 | 2,582 | 0 | 152.4 | 0% |
| Iron | 8 | 391 | 1 | 140.0 | 13% |
| Jackson | 27 | 2,782 | 1 | 131.7 | 4% |
| Jefferson | 274 | 7,007 | 4 | 323.7 | 1% |
| Juneau | 43 | 3,064 | 1 | 162.8 | 2% |
| Kenosha | 1,574 | 18,019 | 44 | 935.1 | 3% |
| Kewaunee | 62 | 1,571 | 1 | 304.5 | 2% |
| La Crosse | 510 | 12,722 | 0 | 432.8 | 0% |
| Lafayette | 76 | 1,403 | 0 | 454.1 | 0% |
| Langlade | 11 | 1,408 | 0 | 57.4 | 0% |
| Lincoln | 14 | 1,885 | 0 | 50.3 | 0% |
| Manitowoc | 108 | 6,590 | 1 | 136.0 | 1% |
| Marathon | 201 | 7,184 | 1 | 148.6 | 0% |
| Marinette | 65 | 4,486 | 3 | 160.3 | 5% |
| Marquette | 23 | 1,159 | 1 | 151.2 | 4% |
| Menominee | 7 | 1,230 | 0 | 152.9 | 0% |
| Milwaukee | 12,083 | 110,435 | 391 | 1266.3 | 3% |
| Monroe | 79 | 4,922 | 1 | 173.6 | 1% |
| Oconto | 63 | 3,694 | 0 | 167.7 | 0% |
| Oneida | 20 | 2,559 | 0 | 56.6 | 0% |
| Outagamie | 524 | 16,073 | 9 | 283.6 | 2% |
| Ozaukee | 253 | 7,143 | 15 | 286.6 | 6% |
| Pepin | 1 | 575 | 0 | 13.8 | 0% |
| Pierce | 73 | 2,801 | 0 | 175.5 | 0% |
| Polk | 59 | 3,786 | 1 | 136.1 | 2% |
| Portage | 181 | 5,643 | 0 | 256.4 | 0% |
| Price | 2 | 965 | 0 | 14.8 | 0% |
| Racine | 2,196 | 27,296 | 65 | 1123.9 | 3% |
| Richland | 15 | 1,598 | 4 | 85.5 | 27% |
| Rock | 897 | 15,749 | 24 | 554.5 | 3% |
| Rusk | 11 | 794 | 0 | 77.6 | 0% |
| Sauk | 119 | 7,160 | 3 | 187.1 | 3% |
| Sawyer | 12 | 1,858 | 0 | 73.3 | 0% |
| Shawano | 83 | 4,165 | 0 | 202.4 | 0% |
| Sheboygan | 224 | 9,144 | 4 | 194.4 | 2% |
| St. Croix | 202 | 6,536 | 1 | 229.8 | 0% |
| Taylor | 16 | 1,051 | 0 | 78.6 | 0% |
| Trempealeau | 129 | 3,511 | 0 | 438.2 | 0% |
| Vernon | 38 | 2,505 | 0 | 124.5 | 0% |
| Vilas | 10 | 1,242 | 0 | 46.3 | 0% |
| Walworth | 677 | 9,489 | 18 | 657.2 | 3% |
| Washburn | 4 | 1,174 | 0 | 25.5 | 0% |
| Washington | 422 | 9,556 | 16 | 313.7 | 4% |
| Waukesha | 1,317 | 27,644 | 39 | 330.2 | 3% |
| Waupaca | 128 | 5,082 | 10 | 248.8 | 8% |
| Waushara | 34 | 3,678 | 0 | 141.0 | 0% |
| Winnebago | 701 | 18,388 | 13 | 412.5 | 2% |
| Wood | 79 | 5,348 | 1 | 107.8 | 1% |
| Total | 31,055 | 579,637 | 796 | 537.4 | 3% |
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