COVID-19 Spread Accelerating In Wisconsin Teenagers
Percentage of individuals under 19 that have contracted disease has increased every month this summer.
COVID-19. Credit: U.S. Army.
The number of individuals aged 10 to 19 testing positive for COVID-19 is surging just before many Wisconsin school districts are set to welcome kids back to class.
As of mid-June approximately seven percent of all cases of the disease in Wisconsin were diagnosed in members of the age group according to the state Department of Health Services. By mid-July that overall percentage had jumped to 8.7 percent.
In the last 30 days, 11.8 percent of all COVID-19 cases have been individuals aged 10 to 19.
Publicly available health data does not provide a more nuanced view than the 10 to 19 range, so it’s impossible to discern if cases are faster spreading in 10-year-old, incoming 5th graders or 19-year-old recent high school graduates.
The group is dwarfed by the next oldest age group, 20-29, which represents 25 percent of all cases. Individuals aged 30 to 39 represent 17 percent of all cases. Those younger than 10 represent three percent of all cases.
Combined, individuals under 40 represent 55 percent of all cases since the outbreak began.
Hospitalization and death rates increase with every age group. Not a single individual under 20 has died, and only one percent of those aged 20 to 29, but the figure hits a high of 27 percent for individuals aged 80 to 89.
Public health officials have expressed concern that sustained transmission in younger individuals does not pose an immediate, known risk, but presents a long-term risk.
“The danger is that these transmission networks are going to continue until they get to older folks,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Chief Medical Officer of the DHS Bureau of Communicable Diseases, in early July. Over 70 percent of the state’s COVID-19 deaths have been people age 70 or older.
There is evidence that transmission is now happening.
In the 14 days prior to Westergaard’s remark, the state had recorded an average of 3.64 deaths per day from the disease. In the past 14 days that figure has climbed to 6.5.
Deaths have climbed as the number of cases in every age group have increased. The number of people admitted to the hospital each day has also increased, as has the number of people actively hospitalized, but the latter figure has not increased proportionally.
Testing is now in decline according to data released from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The state recorded 685 new cases from 6,099 tests in the 24 hours prior to Sunday afternoon.
An average of 11,096 tests per day have been processed in the past 14 days, down from a peak of 13,920 on August 6th. A total of 71,978 tests have been processed in the past seven days, the lowest total reported since July 12th.
The number of new cases has also fallen, although at a slower rate. The result is a positive case rate that is increasing. With a one-day figure of 11.23 percent, the seven- and 14-day averages stand at 7.21 and 6.50 percent.
The state recorded one death in the past 24 hours, pushing the total to 1,039. The 24-hour figure was above the 30-day average of 6.87 per day and 100-day average of 6.55 per day.
According to DHS data, 2,327.8 out of every 100,000 Milwaukee County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 (up from 2,311.2) since the outbreak began. Racine County has 1,881.3 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 1,875.7). Brown County, which is anchored by Green Bay, has 1,734.1 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 1,720.3).
Kenosha (1,651.5), Walworth (1,455.2), Iron (1,399.8), Trempealeau (1,260.3), Marinette (1,221.1), Waukesha (1,205.9), Dodge (1,059.5), Waupaca (1,022.5), Lafayette (1,021.8), Washington (935.8), Rock (917.4) and Dane (915.2) are the only other counties with more than 900 cases per 100,000 residents.
The statewide average of cases per 100,000 residents rose to 1,137.7 (up from 1,125.8 yesterday). Wisconsin has recorded a per-capita rate of 194 per 100,000 in the past two weeks according to data last updated Wednesday by DHS.
Charts and Maps
Data from DHS.
Percent of COVID-19 cases by hospitalization status
| Hospitalization status | Number of confirmed cases as of 8/16/2020 | Percent of confirmed cases as of 8/16/2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Ever hospitalized | 5,304 | 8% |
| Never hospitalized | 38,267 | 58% |
| Unknown | 22,170 | 34% |
| Total | 65,741 | 100% |
Percent of COVID-19 cases resulting in hospitalization within 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 8/16/2020 | Negative as of 8/16/2020 | Deaths as of 8/16/2020 | Rate (positive cases per 100,000 people) as of 8/16/2020 | Case fatality percentage (percent of cases who died) as of 8/16/2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 94 | 2,865 | 2 | 468.3 | 2% |
| Ashland | 30 | 1,846 | 1 | 190.9 | 3% |
| Barron | 326 | 6,624 | 3 | 720.4 | 1% |
| Bayfield | 34 | 2,071 | 1 | 226.8 | 3% |
| Brown | 4,505 | 54,074 | 55 | 1734.1 | 1% |
| Buffalo | 47 | 1,797 | 2 | 357.0 | 4% |
| Burnett | 27 | 1,790 | 1 | 177.0 | 4% |
| Calumet | 403 | 6,990 | 2 | 809.1 | 0% |
| Chippewa | 274 | 10,968 | 0 | 430.6 | 0% |
| Clark | 197 | 3,964 | 8 | 571.2 | 4% |
| Columbia | 288 | 10,563 | 2 | 505.7 | 1% |
| Crawford | 86 | 3,584 | 0 | 528.0 | 0% |
| Dane | 4,849 | 145,559 | 39 | 915.2 | 1% |
| Dodge | 930 | 17,425 | 5 | 1059.5 | 1% |
| Door | 114 | 4,772 | 3 | 415.5 | 3% |
| Douglas | 223 | 5,627 | 0 | 513.8 | 0% |
| Dunn | 139 | 6,042 | 0 | 312.4 | 0% |
| Eau Claire | 658 | 15,981 | 4 | 638.9 | 1% |
| Florence | 16 | 663 | 0 | 368.9 | 0% |
| Fond du Lac | 763 | 15,973 | 8 | 745.7 | 1% |
| Forest | 61 | 1,061 | 4 | 676.4 | 7% |
| Grant | 396 | 9,416 | 16 | 764.1 | 4% |
| Green | 214 | 5,375 | 1 | 580.5 | 0% |
| Green Lake | 62 | 2,682 | 0 | 330.5 | 0% |
| Iowa | 100 | 3,957 | 0 | 423.4 | 0% |
| Iron | 80 | 1,254 | 1 | 1399.8 | 1% |
| Jackson | 62 | 5,664 | 1 | 302.4 | 2% |
| Jefferson | 718 | 14,200 | 5 | 848.2 | 1% |
| Juneau | 152 | 6,503 | 1 | 575.3 | 1% |
| Kenosha | 2,780 | 30,605 | 60 | 1651.5 | 2% |
| Kewaunee | 143 | 2,709 | 2 | 702.4 | 1% |
| La Crosse | 967 | 19,037 | 1 | 820.5 | 0% |
| Lafayette | 171 | 2,543 | 0 | 1021.8 | 0% |
| Langlade | 74 | 2,465 | 1 | 386.1 | 1% |
| Lincoln | 73 | 3,542 | 0 | 262.1 | 0% |
| Manitowoc | 399 | 11,246 | 1 | 502.5 | 0% |
| Marathon | 697 | 15,604 | 12 | 515.3 | 2% |
| Marinette | 495 | 7,727 | 5 | 1221.1 | 1% |
| Marquette | 81 | 2,270 | 1 | 532.6 | 1% |
| Menominee | 26 | 1,796 | 0 | 567.8 | 0% |
| Milwaukee | 22,212 | 203,728 | 466 | 2327.8 | 2% |
| Monroe | 254 | 7,732 | 2 | 558.2 | 1% |
| Oconto | 276 | 6,466 | 1 | 734.9 | 0% |
| Oneida | 176 | 5,639 | 0 | 497.9 | 0% |
| Outagamie | 1,388 | 28,068 | 14 | 751.3 | 1% |
| Ozaukee | 783 | 13,731 | 18 | 886.9 | 2% |
| Pepin | 46 | 1,070 | 0 | 633.4 | 0% |
| Pierce | 244 | 5,310 | 4 | 586.5 | 2% |
| Polk | 143 | 6,542 | 2 | 329.9 | 1% |
| Portage | 467 | 9,695 | 0 | 661.5 | 0% |
| Price | 33 | 1,967 | 0 | 244.6 | 0% |
| Racine | 3,676 | 49,191 | 81 | 1881.3 | 2% |
| Richland | 38 | 3,108 | 4 | 216.7 | 11% |
| Rock | 1,484 | 26,553 | 26 | 917.4 | 2% |
| Rusk | 22 | 1,469 | 1 | 155.1 | 5% |
| Sauk | 512 | 14,980 | 3 | 805.1 | 1% |
| Sawyer | 110 | 3,277 | 0 | 672.0 | 0% |
| Shawano | 217 | 6,860 | 0 | 529.2 | 0% |
| Sheboygan | 842 | 17,304 | 8 | 730.9 | 1% |
| St. Croix | 536 | 11,643 | 6 | 609.7 | 1% |
| Taylor | 78 | 2,071 | 2 | 383.2 | 3% |
| Trempealeau | 371 | 5,189 | 2 | 1260.3 | 1% |
| Vernon | 74 | 4,190 | 0 | 242.5 | 0% |
| Vilas | 74 | 3,018 | 0 | 342.7 | 0% |
| Walworth | 1,499 | 18,189 | 25 | 1455.2 | 2% |
| Washburn | 50 | 2,187 | 0 | 318.7 | 0% |
| Washington | 1,259 | 17,719 | 23 | 935.8 | 2% |
| Waukesha | 4,810 | 60,160 | 65 | 1205.9 | 1% |
| Waupaca | 526 | 8,397 | 16 | 1022.5 | 3% |
| Waushara | 128 | 5,527 | 1 | 530.8 | 1% |
| Winnebago | 1,280 | 30,152 | 19 | 753.3 | 1% |
| Wood | 379 | 10,567 | 2 | 517.2 | 1% |
| Total | 65,741 | 1,060,533 | 1,039 | 1137.7 | 2% |
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