Record Number of People Hospitalized with COVID-19
Cases hit an all-time high in early September, now hospitalizations are catching up.
COVID-19. Credit: U.S. Army.
The number of people actively hospitalized with a confirmed case of COVID-19 has climbed steadily in September. As of Tuesday afternoon, it’s at an all-time high.
A total of 474 Wisconsin residents are actively hospitalized with a confirmed case of the disease according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association COVID-19 dashboard. The figure is up 41 from Monday and 131 from a week ago. The Department of Health Services reports that 73 people were newly hospitalized in the past 24 hours, bringing the outbreak total to 6,765.
The hospitalizations, a lagging indicator of the disease’s spread, come as the state is reporting record numbers of new cases.
The Department of Health Services reported that 1,672 people tested positive in the past 24 hours. The figure would have been an all-time high before multiple record-setting totals were recorded in the past week.
The new cases come from 12,537 processed tests. The number of tests processed in the past seven days has climbed to 76,833, the highest total since August 13th. A high of 99,920 was recorded for the week ending August 6th.
And while testing isn’t at an all-time high, cases are. The seven-day case total hit 12,866. The high before September brought a surge of cases with it was 6,512 for the week of July 26th.
Officials have looked for the positive case rate to trend downward to indicate a slowing spread of disease and sufficient testing. Multiple public health benchmarks call for the positive case figure to be sustained under five percent. During an appearance before the Milwaukee Press Club, last Wednesday Governor Tony Evers called the five percent figure a “golden target” and encouraged more people to get tested.
Seven deaths were reported by DHS, bringing the statewide total to 1,251. There have been 525 deaths recorded in Milwaukee County. An average of 5.67 deaths per day have been reported across the state over the past 30 days.
Brown County has recorded 2,958.9 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 2,905.2). According to DHS data, 2,881.1 out of every 100,000 Milwaukee County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 (up from 2,855.9) since the outbreak began.
Forest (2,439.6), Walworth (2,420.7), Iron (2,344.3), Racine (2,335.5), La Crosse (2,280), Outgamie (2,012) and Kewaunee (2,005.4) are the only other counties with more than 2,000 cases per 100,000 residents.
The statewide average of cases per 100,000 residents rose to 1,801.9 (up from 1,773). Wisconsin has recorded a per-capita rate of 269.6 per 100,000 in the past two weeks according to the DHS activity level report released Wednesday.
A total of 104,170 residents have tested positive for the disease.
Charts and Maps
Data from DHS.
Percent of COVID-19 cases by hospitalization status
| Hospitalization status | Number of confirmed cases as of 9/22/2020 | Percent of confirmed cases as of 9/22/2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Ever hospitalized | 6,765 | 6% |
| Never hospitalized | 59,520 | 57% |
| Unknown | 37,885 | 36% |
| Total | 104,170 | 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
| Number of confirmed cases | Number of negatives* | Number of probable cases | Number of deaths** | Cases per 100,000 people (counties) |
Case fatality percentage***
|
|
| Adams | 209 | 3,742 | 13 | 4 | 1019.8 | 1.90% |
| Ashland | 70 | 2,429 | 7 | 2 | 441.3 | 2.90% |
| Barron | 422 | 8,495 | 21 | 4 | 919.8 | 0.90% |
| Bayfield | 86 | 2,827 | 8 | 1 | 565.6 | 1.20% |
| Brown | 7703 | 66,078 | 175 | 60 | 2958.9 | 0.80% |
| Buffalo | 124 | 2,386 | 4 | 2 | 917.9 | 1.60% |
| Burnett | 140 | 2,542 | 4 | 3 | 906.3 | 2.10% |
| Calumet | 921 | 9,389 | 35 | 2 | 1789.2 | 0.20% |
| Chippewa | 482 | 13,929 | 25 | 0 | 750.5 | 0.00% |
| Clark | 331 | 5,245 | 29 | 8 | 952.8 | 2.40% |
| Columbia | 531 | 14,249 | 46 | 2 | 929.5 | 0.40% |
| Crawford | 141 | 4,271 | 4 | 0 | 851.7 | 0.00% |
| Dane | 8947 | 190,377 | 459 | 41 | 1692.9 | 0.50% |
| Dodge | 1653 | 21,868 | 23 | 10 | 1853 | 0.60% |
| Door | 245 | 6,376 | 17 | 3 | 873.4 | 1.20% |
| Douglas | 393 | 7,149 | 8 | 0 | 895.7 | 0.00% |
| Dunn | 402 | 8,001 | 24 | 0 | 897.8 | 0.00% |
| Eau Claire | 1650 | 21,086 | 21 | 6 | 1603.6 | 0.40% |
| Florence | 69 | 819 | 0 | 1 | 1560.7 | 1.40% |
| Fond du Lac | 1799 | 22,229 | 48 | 13 | 1740.3 | 0.70% |
| Forest | 224 | 1,511 | 2 | 4 | 2439.6 | 1.80% |
| Grant | 846 | 12,997 | 41 | 19 | 1615.3 | 2.20% |
| Green | 449 | 7,601 | 20 | 2 | 1218 | 0.40% |
| Green Lake | 212 | 3,587 | 37 | 0 | 1110.6 | 0.00% |
| Iowa | 155 | 5,206 | 24 | 0 | 651.3 | 0.00% |
| Iron | 137 | 1,463 | 7 | 1 | 2344.3 | 0.70% |
| Jackson | 107 | 6,250 | 4 | 1 | 518.3 | 0.90% |
| Jefferson | 1243 | 18,322 | 73 | 7 | 1468 | 0.60% |
| Juneau | 331 | 8,099 | 4 | 2 | 1230.1 | 0.60% |
| Kenosha | 3308 | 36,622 | 387 | 65 | 1966.3 | 2.00% |
| Kewaunee | 414 | 3,587 | 6 | 2 | 2005.4 | 0.50% |
| La Crosse | 2698 | 24,155 | 148 | 2 | 2280 | 0.10% |
| Lafayette | 225 | 3,296 | 6 | 0 | 1332.7 | 0.00% |
| Langlade | 136 | 3,205 | 1 | 2 | 687.7 | 1.50% |
| Lincoln | 159 | 4,603 | 10 | 1 | 559 | 0.60% |
| Manitowoc | 905 | 13,872 | 58 | 2 | 1127.7 | 0.20% |
| Marathon | 1112 | 19,900 | 98 | 14 | 825.3 | 1.30% |
| Marinette | 768 | 9,385 | 20 | 7 | 1876 | 0.90% |
| Marquette | 202 | 2,991 | 8 | 1 | 1313.6 | 0.50% |
| Menominee | 55 | 2,282 | 0 | 0 | 1255.1 | 0.00% |
| Milwaukee | 27211 | 246,062 | 1,632 | 525 | 2881.1 | 1.90% |
| Monroe | 408 | 9,701 | 13 | 2 | 887 | 0.50% |
| Oconto | 703 | 8,318 | 41 | 4 | 1851.9 | 0.60% |
| Oneida | 356 | 7,785 | 6 | 2 | 991.3 | 0.60% |
| Outagamie | 3698 | 38,721 | 225 | 28 | 2012 | 0.80% |
| Ozaukee | 1240 | 17,380 | 94 | 19 | 1403.3 | 1.50% |
| Pepin | 56 | 1,372 | 3 | 0 | 762 | 0.00% |
| Pierce | 408 | 7,270 | 220 | 6 | 979.9 | 1.50% |
| Polk | 224 | 8,531 | 6 | 2 | 510.3 | 0.90% |
| Portage | 1244 | 12,308 | 37 | 4 | 1759.1 | 0.30% |
| Price | 55 | 2,456 | 2 | 0 | 398.3 | 0.00% |
| Racine | 4559 | 62,259 | 412 | 94 | 2335.5 | 2.10% |
| Richland | 93 | 4,290 | 11 | 4 | 525.1 | 4.30% |
| Rock | 2287 | 34,462 | 190 | 32 | 1427 | 1.40% |
| Rusk | 52 | 2,206 | 6 | 1 | 357.8 | 1.90% |
| Sauk | 822 | 18,553 | 57 | 3 | 1311.3 | 0.40% |
| Sawyer | 196 | 4,390 | 0 | 1 | 1182.9 | 0.50% |
| Shawano | 606 | 8,945 | 5 | 1 | 1468.7 | 0.20% |
| Sheboygan | 1492 | 21,836 | 52 | 15 | 1302.9 | 1.00% |
| St. Croix | 840 | 15,083 | 61 | 8 | 952.7 | 1.00% |
| Taylor | 156 | 2,681 | 3 | 3 | 758 | 1.90% |
| Trempealeau | 569 | 6,383 | 17 | 2 | 1939.9 | 0.40% |
| Vernon | 183 | 5,517 | 5 | 0 | 604.2 | 0.00% |
| Vilas | 174 | 4,244 | 4 | 1 | 803.5 | 0.60% |
| Walworth | 2484 | 22,739 | 146 | 34 | 2420.7 | 1.40% |
| Washburn | 94 | 2,748 | 3 | 1 | 592.9 | 1.10% |
| Washington | 2324 | 23,421 | 71 | 32 | 1728.1 | 1.40% |
| Waukesha | 6763 | 77,677 | 623 | 85 | 1696.5 | 1.30% |
| Waupaca | 934 | 10,141 | 105 | 19 | 1805.5 | 2.00% |
| Waushara | 284 | 6,522 | 6 | 2 | 1168.8 | 0.70% |
| Winnebago | 2944 | 38,225 | 135 | 23 | 1738.5 | 0.80% |
| Wood | 707 | 13,845 | 41 | 4 | 955.1 | 0.60% |
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