It’s Not College Students Driving Disease
Young people, aged 25-39, are pushing the spread of COVID-19 right now.
Community transmission of COVID-19 is increasing, and it’s increasing among young people primarily, but it’s not college students that are driving the recent spike in disease.
No, it is young people aged 25-39 who have the most cases and the highest rate of disease in the county. And this age group is followed by county residents aged 40-59, who have the second-highest number of cases.
This revelation comes from the latest weekly report produced by a team of epidemiologists at the Medical College of Wisconsin tracking COVID-19 locally.
County residents that are generally college-aged, 18-24 have the third-highest number of cases. And are tied with people aged 40-59.
Across the state, though, 18-24 year olds continue to have the highest rate of disease. And recently, six Wisconsin’s college towns made a list of the top 20 communities in the U.S. with the highest number of cases per capita.
But right now, the county is in the early stages of an upswing in disease. The third since the pandemic began. And it’s “what’s happening in the broader community” that’s driving case rates, Rausch said during a Thursday afternoon media briefing.
The transmission rate for the county is currently between approximately 1.2 and 1.3, which means each diagnosed case of the disease is generating more than one additional case. Milwaukee is no longer suppressing the disease, and it hasn’t been for weeks.
Testing is increasing in the county. Two weeks ago there were 20,000 tests performed and last week there were approximately 17,000 tests performed.
The recent spike in disease is slightly more pronounced in the City of Milwaukee than in the suburbs, Rausch said. Looking at a map of the incidence of COVID-19 in the city, the East Side and South Side of the city continue to be hotspots. And in the suburbs, the North Shore is also seeing a high incidence rate.
The rising levels of disease is worrying to public health officials as the state is at the precipice of flu season, leading to the potential of twin-pandemics this winter.
Read the weekly report here.
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More about the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Milwaukee County Announces New Policies Related to COVID-19 Pandemic - County Executive David Crowley - May 9th, 2023
- DHS Details End of Emergency COVID-19 Response - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Apr 26th, 2023
- Milwaukee Health Department Announces Upcoming Changes to COVID-19 Services - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Mar 17th, 2023
- Fitzgerald Applauds Passage of COVID-19 Origin Act - U.S. Rep Scott Fitzgerald - Mar 10th, 2023
- DHS Expands Free COVID-19 Testing Program - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Feb 10th, 2023
- MKE County: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rising - Graham Kilmer - Jan 16th, 2023
- Not Enough Getting Bivalent Booster Shots, State Health Officials Warn - Gaby Vinick - Dec 26th, 2022
- Nearly All Wisconsinites Age 6 Months and Older Now Eligible for Updated COVID-19 Vaccine - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Dec 15th, 2022
- City of Milwaukee Bi-Weekly COVID-19 Update - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Dec 9th, 2022
- MKE County: COVID-19 Disease Burden Remains Stable - Graham Kilmer - Nov 25th, 2022
Read more about Coronavirus Pandemic here
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