Jeramey Jannene
WI Daily

COVID-19 Spread Accelerating In Wisconsin Teenagers

Percentage of individuals under 19 that have contracted disease has increased every month this summer.

By - Aug 16th, 2020 07:29 pm
COVID-19. Credit: U.S. Army.

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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