Wisconsin Has Higher COVID-19 Positive Case Rate Than Milwaukee
Long the state leader, Milwaukee County appears to be suppressing disease spread.
COVID-19. Credit: U.S. Army.
For months Milwaukee County has been the epicenter of Wisconsin’s COVID-19 pandemic. But that’s shifting.
“We’re seeing a statistically positive decrease in our percent positive number,” said Milwaukee County medical services director Dr. Ben Weston during a media briefing Tuesday. “This is a key metric to watch.”
The positive case rate measures the percentage of tests that indicate a positive case of the disease.
As testing has fallen, the statewide percentage has climbed to levels not seen since early May when testing was limited to those with symptoms. But Milwaukee County’s positive case rate is falling and the seven-day average stands near five percent. The statewide figure, including Milwaukee data, is eight percent.
That doesn’t mean COVID-19 is a non-issue in Milwaukee. Far from it. On a per-capita basis, the county still has the 10th greatest spread over the past two weeks according to a state reported last updated August 19th. On an absolute number basis, it remains the leader over the past two weeks
In fact, if you add every case in the nine counties ahead of Milwaukee in the per capita rankings, Milwaukee has a greater two-week case total than the nine leading counties combined.
The state Department of Health Services (DHS) is scheduled to update its activity level report Wednesday.
On Tuesday afternoon, DHS released its 24-hour report that showed 638 new cases from 9,987 tests.
DHS reports 71,492 Wisconsin residents have tested positive for the disease since the outbreak began, with 4,662 in the past week and 9,707 in the past 14 days. DHS reports that 88 percent of individuals with a confirmed case have “recovered,” as defined by a documented abatement of symptoms or a diagnosis over 30 days ago. A total of 58,239 tests have been processed in the past seven days.
A two-day streak of no deaths was snapped as 13 deaths were reported, bringing the statewide total 1,094. Three were in Milwaukee County, bringing the county’s total to 479.
The Wisconsin Hospital Association reports that 354 people are actively hospitalized with a confirmed case of the disease, an increase of 17. DHS reports that 37 people were newly hospitalized in the past 24 hours.
According to DHS data, 2,451.9 out of every 100,000 Milwaukee County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 (up from 2,439.8) since the outbreak began. Racine County has recorded 1,979 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 1,965.2). Brown County has record 1953.1 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 1.912.7). Iron County, the northern-most county that borders Michigan, has 1,942.3 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 1,924.8), but only 110 total cases.
Kenosha (1,719.2), Walworth (1,575.5), Marinette (1,406.1), Trempealeau (1,358.8), Waukesha (1,325.2), Dodge (1,191.7), Waupaca (1,164.4), Washington (1,101.6), Lafayette (1,099.5) and Oconto (1,001.2) are the only other counties with more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 residents.
The statewide average of cases per 100,000 residents rose to 1,237.2 (up from 1,226.2 yesterday). Wisconsin has recorded a per-capita rate of 182.7 per 100,000 in the past two weeks according to the DHS activity level report released Wednesday.
Charts and Maps
Data from DHS.
Percent of COVID-19 cases by hospitalization status
| Hospitalization status | Number of confirmed cases as of 8/25/2020 | Percent of confirmed cases as of 8/25/2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Ever hospitalized | 5,610 | 8% |
| Never hospitalized | 41,823 | 59% |
| Unknown | 24,059 | 34% |
| Total | 71,492 | 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 8/25/2020 | Negative as of 8/25/2020 | Deaths as of 8/25/2020 | Rate (positive cases per 100,000 people) as of 8/25/2020 | Case fatality percentage (percent of cases who died) as of 8/25/2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 101 | 3,030 | 3 | 503.2 | 3% |
| Ashland | 33 | 1,972 | 1 | 210.0 | 3% |
| Barron | 359 | 6,867 | 3 | 793.3 | 1% |
| Bayfield | 42 | 2,399 | 1 | 280.1 | 2% |
| Brown | 5,074 | 56,852 | 57 | 1953.1 | 1% |
| Buffalo | 56 | 1,897 | 2 | 425.3 | 4% |
| Burnett | 33 | 1,979 | 1 | 216.3 | 3% |
| Calumet | 452 | 7,541 | 2 | 907.5 | 0% |
| Chippewa | 304 | 11,638 | 0 | 477.7 | 0% |
| Clark | 230 | 4,191 | 8 | 666.8 | 3% |
| Columbia | 329 | 11,328 | 2 | 577.7 | 1% |
| Crawford | 98 | 3,847 | 0 | 601.7 | 0% |
| Dane | 5,161 | 155,774 | 39 | 974.1 | 1% |
| Dodge | 1,046 | 18,602 | 5 | 1191.7 | 0% |
| Door | 127 | 5,073 | 3 | 462.8 | 2% |
| Douglas | 242 | 5,936 | 0 | 557.6 | 0% |
| Dunn | 155 | 6,407 | 0 | 348.3 | 0% |
| Eau Claire | 737 | 17,374 | 6 | 715.6 | 1% |
| Florence | 22 | 703 | 0 | 507.3 | 0% |
| Fond du Lac | 969 | 17,461 | 9 | 947.1 | 1% |
| Forest | 66 | 1,131 | 4 | 731.9 | 6% |
| Grant | 423 | 10,469 | 16 | 816.2 | 4% |
| Green | 255 | 5,888 | 1 | 691.7 | 0% |
| Green Lake | 87 | 2,913 | 0 | 463.8 | 0% |
| Iowa | 111 | 4,297 | 0 | 469.9 | 0% |
| Iron | 111 | 1,317 | 1 | 1942.3 | 1% |
| Jackson | 71 | 5,819 | 1 | 346.2 | 1% |
| Jefferson | 829 | 15,217 | 6 | 979.3 | 1% |
| Juneau | 177 | 6,719 | 1 | 670.0 | 1% |
| Kenosha | 2,894 | 32,041 | 61 | 1719.2 | 2% |
| Kewaunee | 155 | 2,913 | 2 | 761.3 | 1% |
| La Crosse | 1,060 | 20,145 | 1 | 899.4 | 0% |
| Lafayette | 184 | 2,709 | 0 | 1099.5 | 0% |
| Langlade | 77 | 2,629 | 2 | 401.8 | 3% |
| Lincoln | 76 | 3,853 | 1 | 272.9 | 1% |
| Manitowoc | 468 | 11,991 | 1 | 589.4 | 0% |
| Marathon | 738 | 16,825 | 13 | 545.6 | 2% |
| Marinette | 570 | 8,205 | 6 | 1406.1 | 1% |
| Marquette | 83 | 2,441 | 1 | 545.8 | 1% |
| Menominee | 28 | 1,901 | 0 | 611.5 | 0% |
| Milwaukee | 23,396 | 212,574 | 482 | 2451.9 | 2% |
| Monroe | 267 | 8,450 | 2 | 586.8 | 1% |
| Oconto | 376 | 6,985 | 1 | 1001.2 | 0% |
| Oneida | 198 | 6,129 | 0 | 560.2 | 0% |
| Outagamie | 1,606 | 30,350 | 19 | 869.3 | 1% |
| Ozaukee | 866 | 14,813 | 18 | 980.9 | 2% |
| Pepin | 47 | 1,130 | 0 | 647.2 | 0% |
| Pierce | 276 | 5,699 | 5 | 663.4 | 2% |
| Polk | 159 | 7,008 | 2 | 366.8 | 1% |
| Portage | 524 | 10,413 | 1 | 742.2 | 0% |
| Price | 34 | 2,082 | 0 | 252.0 | 0% |
| Racine | 3,867 | 52,300 | 86 | 1979.0 | 2% |
| Richland | 42 | 3,320 | 4 | 239.5 | 10% |
| Rock | 1,582 | 28,346 | 26 | 977.9 | 2% |
| Rusk | 24 | 1,581 | 1 | 169.2 | 4% |
| Sauk | 598 | 15,874 | 3 | 940.3 | 1% |
| Sawyer | 147 | 3,796 | 0 | 898.0 | 0% |
| Shawano | 239 | 7,305 | 0 | 582.8 | 0% |
| Sheboygan | 962 | 18,381 | 8 | 835.0 | 1% |
| St. Croix | 598 | 12,478 | 7 | 680.2 | 1% |
| Taylor | 85 | 2,192 | 3 | 417.6 | 4% |
| Trempealeau | 400 | 5,429 | 2 | 1358.8 | 1% |
| Vernon | 86 | 4,494 | 0 | 281.8 | 0% |
| Vilas | 95 | 3,313 | 0 | 440.0 | 0% |
| Walworth | 1,623 | 19,130 | 26 | 1575.5 | 2% |
| Washburn | 56 | 2,320 | 0 | 356.9 | 0% |
| Washington | 1,482 | 19,453 | 26 | 1101.6 | 2% |
| Waukesha | 5,286 | 65,418 | 71 | 1325.2 | 1% |
| Waupaca | 599 | 8,817 | 17 | 1164.4 | 3% |
| Waushara | 135 | 5,725 | 1 | 559.8 | 1% |
| Winnebago | 1,383 | 32,098 | 21 | 813.9 | 2% |
| Wood | 421 | 11,274 | 2 | 574.6 | 0% |
| Total | 71,492 | 1,128,971 | 1,094 | 1237.2 | 2% |
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