New One-Day COVID-19 Case Record As Hospitalizations Surge 181% In 30 Days
Records set for new cases, positive case rate, active hospitalizations and rolling death total.
State officials don’t have an opimistic tone for what comes next in Wisconsin’s fight against COVID-19.
“We know this is going to get worse before it gets better,” said Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm in a media briefing Thursday afternoon. “Our numbers are high and they’re growing rapidly.”
What started in September with a surge of cases in the state’s younger residents now is afflicting all age groups. “What we are seeing now in the state of Wisconsin and have been seeing in all age groups is very intense community spreads,” said Palm. Fifty-seven of the state’s 72 counties meet the state’s threshold for “very high” spread.
A total of 20,495 cases were recorded in the past seven days, a new high. The seven-day case high before September, and now October, brought a surge of cases with it was 6,512 for the week of July 26th.
Thursday’s record case total comes from 15,202 processed tests. The seven-day testing total fell to 93,511, up from 66,518 a month ago. A high of 99,920 tests was recorded for the week ending August 6th.
The increase in testing hasn’t resulted in the percentage of people testing positive falling. The seven and 14-day positive case rates now stand at 21.92% and 20.39%, both are record highs. The figure measures the percentage of tests that indicate a new case of COVID-19. The 14-day figure hit a low of 2.69% on June 19th.
“Because of the course of this virus we can expect to see an increase in hospitalizations as long as we see an increase in daily new cases,” said Palm, talking about days and weeks in the future. But hospitalizations are already setting records now.
The Wisconsin Hospital Association reported 1,043 active hospitalizations on Thursday, a record high. The total is up 26 from Wednesday and up 136 from a week ago. Thirty days ago the figure stood at 370.
DHS reports that 138 people were newly hospitalized in the past 24 hours, bringing the outbreak total to 8,892.
“We need to do all we can right now to break that transmission, to stop the spread”, said Palm. “But it will take time before we see the fruits of that labor in reduced hospitalizations and reduced community spread.” Wearing masks and restricting gatherings is part of that. She said there is no doubt that masks slow the spread of the disease. “My mask protects you, your mask protects me,” said Palm. “The evidence is clear.”
The ultimate lagging indicator of the disease’s spread, death, is increasing in absolute numbers.
DHS reported 17 new deaths, bringing the statewide total to 1,553. There have been 554 deaths recorded in Milwaukee County. An average of 11.1 deaths per day have been reported across the state over the past 30 days, the highest average on record. A month ago the rolling average was 6.3.
As evidence of the outstate spread, in just the past month Milwaukee County has gone from having a runaway lead on the worst all-time per-capita spread of the disease to the 10th-worst. And it’s done so while the spread of the disease accelerated in the county.
Brown County has recorded 4,808.9 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 4,694.1). Menominee County is next with 4,427.2 cases per 100,000 residents. Oconto County has recorded 4,304.3 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 4,233.2).
Shawano, Forest, Kewaunee, Calumet, Winnebago and Outagamie counties are the remaining counties leading Milwaukee.
According to DHS data, 3,601.7 out of every 100,000 Milwaukee County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 (up from 3,550.3) since the outbreak began.
The statewide average of cases per 100,000 residents rose to 2,807.9 (up from 2,743.1). Wisconsin has recorded a per-capita rate of 627.9 per 100,000 in the past two weeks according to the DHS activity level report released Wednesday.
Charts and Maps
Confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths by gender
Confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths by race
Confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths by ethnicity
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) | Deaths per 100,000 people (counties) | Case fatality percentage**** | ||
Adams | 10/15/2020 | 340 | 4,622 | 20 | 4 | 1,658.90 | 19.5 | 1.20% |
Ashland | 10/15/2020 | 210 | 3,568 | 10 | 3 | 1,323.80 | 18.9 | 1.40% |
Barron | 10/15/2020 | 701 | 10,313 | 27 | 6 | 1,527.90 | 13.1 | 0.90% |
Bayfield | 10/15/2020 | 166 | 3,626 | 10 | 1 | 1,091.80 | 6.6 | 0.60% |
Brown | 10/15/2020 | 12,519 | 80,201 | 249 | 82 | 4,808.90 | 31.5 | 0.70% |
Buffalo | 10/15/2020 | 191 | 2,884 | 4 | 2 | 1,413.90 | 14.8 | 1.00% |
Burnett | 10/15/2020 | 255 | 3,157 | 14 | 6 | 1,650.80 | 38.8 | 2.40% |
Calumet | 10/15/2020 | 2,094 | 11,805 | 62 | 10 | 4,067.90 | 19.4 | 0.50% |
Chippewa | 10/15/2020 | 959 | 16,759 | 29 | 2 | 1,493.30 | 3.1 | 0.20% |
Clark | 10/15/2020 | 599 | 6,303 | 54 | 9 | 1,724.20 | 25.9 | 1.50% |
Columbia | 10/15/2020 | 1,266 | 17,765 | 59 | 4 | 2,216.10 | 7 | 0.30% |
Crawford | 10/15/2020 | 268 | 4,773 | 7 | 0 | 1,618.80 | 0 | 0.00% |
Dane | 10/15/2020 | 12,072 | 212,443 | 521 | 46 | 2,284.20 | 8.7 | 0.40% |
Dodge | 10/15/2020 | 2,806 | 25,390 | 78 | 19 | 3,145.60 | 21.3 | 0.70% |
Door | 10/15/2020 | 563 | 7,978 | 38 | 4 | 2,007.10 | 14.3 | 0.70% |
Douglas | 10/15/2020 | 655 | 9,264 | 6 | 1 | 1,492.90 | 2.3 | 0.20% |
Dunn | 10/15/2020 | 797 | 9,517 | 35 | 1 | 1,779.90 | 2.2 | 0.10% |
Eau Claire | 10/15/2020 | 2,508 | 26,463 | 21 | 9 | 2,437.50 | 8.7 | 0.40% |
Florence | 10/15/2020 | 149 | 1,045 | 2 | 4 | 3,370.30 | 90.5 | 2.70% |
Fond du Lac | 10/15/2020 | 3,247 | 26,644 | 91 | 16 | 3,141.10 | 15.5 | 0.50% |
Forest | 10/15/2020 | 388 | 2,186 | 6 | 10 | 4,225.70 | 108.9 | 2.60% |
Grant | 10/15/2020 | 1,538 | 14,615 | 54 | 23 | 2,936.60 | 43.9 | 1.50% |
Green | 10/15/2020 | 760 | 9,527 | 20 | 3 | 2,061.60 | 8.1 | 0.40% |
Green Lake | 10/15/2020 | 536 | 4,667 | 85 | 2 | 2,808.00 | 10.5 | 0.40% |
Iowa | 10/15/2020 | 335 | 6,493 | 26 | 1 | 1,407.60 | 4.2 | 0.30% |
Iron | 10/15/2020 | 158 | 1,624 | 14 | 1 | 2,703.60 | 17.1 | 0.60% |
Jackson | 10/15/2020 | 247 | 6,901 | 5 | 1 | 1,196.50 | 4.8 | 0.40% |
Jefferson | 10/15/2020 | 2,112 | 22,059 | 78 | 9 | 2,494.20 | 10.6 | 0.40% |
Juneau | 10/15/2020 | 566 | 10,036 | 4 | 3 | 2,103.50 | 11.1 | 0.50% |
Kenosha | 10/15/2020 | 4,194 | 41,077 | 456 | 69 | 2,493.00 | 41 | 1.60% |
Kewaunee | 10/15/2020 | 851 | 4,713 | 22 | 4 | 4,122.30 | 19.4 | 0.50% |
La Crosse | 10/15/2020 | 3,657 | 29,008 | 154 | 11 | 3,090.40 | 9.3 | 0.30% |
Lafayette | 10/15/2020 | 436 | 4,099 | 8 | 1 | 2,582.50 | 5.9 | 0.20% |
Langlade | 10/15/2020 | 588 | 4,210 | 5 | 4 | 2,973.20 | 20.2 | 0.70% |
Lincoln | 10/15/2020 | 484 | 6,092 | 18 | 4 | 1,701.70 | 14.1 | 0.80% |
Manitowoc | 10/15/2020 | 1,940 | 16,337 | 212 | 7 | 2,417.30 | 8.7 | 0.40% |
Marathon | 10/15/2020 | 3,016 | 22,986 | 196 | 31 | 2,238.40 | 23 | 1.00% |
Marinette | 10/15/2020 | 1,349 | 11,219 | 83 | 9 | 3,295.20 | 22 | 0.70% |
Marquette | 10/15/2020 | 470 | 3,808 | 14 | 2 | 3,056.30 | 13 | 0.40% |
Menominee | 10/15/2020 | 194 | 2,965 | 0 | 0 | 4,427.20 | 0 | 0.00% |
Milwaukee | 10/15/2020 | 34,017 | 277,992 | 2,117 | 554 | 3,601.70 | 58.7 | 1.60% |
Monroe | 10/15/2020 | 853 | 11,560 | 18 | 3 | 1,854.40 | 6.5 | 0.40% |
Oconto | 10/15/2020 | 1,634 | 10,623 | 80 | 6 | 4,304.30 | 15.8 | 0.40% |
Oneida | 10/15/2020 | 839 | 10,258 | 12 | 5 | 2,336.20 | 13.9 | 0.60% |
Outagamie | 10/15/2020 | 7,105 | 44,684 | 338 | 47 | 3,865.60 | 25.6 | 0.70% |
Ozaukee | 10/15/2020 | 1,740 | 20,421 | 177 | 21 | 1,969.20 | 23.8 | 1.20% |
Pepin | 10/15/2020 | 85 | 1,657 | 3 | 0 | 1,156.60 | 0 | 0.00% |
Pierce | 10/15/2020 | 559 | 8,959 | 250 | 7 | 1,342.60 | 16.8 | 1.30% |
Polk | 10/15/2020 | 375 | 10,097 | 14 | 2 | 854.2 | 4.6 | 0.50% |
Portage | 10/15/2020 | 2,065 | 15,386 | 53 | 15 | 2,920.00 | 21.2 | 0.70% |
Price | 10/15/2020 | 267 | 3,274 | 7 | 0 | 1,933.70 | 0 | 0.00% |
Racine | 10/15/2020 | 5,951 | 71,891 | 609 | 101 | 3,048.60 | 51.7 | 1.70% |
Richland | 10/15/2020 | 350 | 6,363 | 13 | 6 | 1,976.10 | 33.9 | 1.70% |
Rock | 10/15/2020 | 3,634 | 39,475 | 210 | 37 | 2,267.50 | 23.1 | 1.00% |
Rusk | 10/15/2020 | 109 | 2,444 | 8 | 1 | 750 | 6.9 | 0.90% |
Sauk | 10/15/2020 | 1,373 | 21,662 | 62 | 6 | 2,190.30 | 9.6 | 0.40% |
Sawyer | 10/15/2020 | 304 | 5,026 | 1 | 1 | 1,834.80 | 6 | 0.30% |
Shawano | 10/15/2020 | 1,773 | 10,942 | 11 | 8 | 4,297.10 | 19.4 | 0.50% |
Sheboygan | 10/15/2020 | 2,828 | 26,452 | 98 | 20 | 2,469.50 | 17.5 | 0.70% |
St. Croix | 10/15/2020 | 1,332 | 18,901 | 85 | 9 | 1,510.70 | 10.2 | 0.70% |
Taylor | 10/15/2020 | 324 | 3,337 | 6 | 6 | 1,574.30 | 29.2 | 1.90% |
Trempealeau | 10/15/2020 | 821 | 6,929 | 19 | 2 | 2,799.00 | 6.8 | 0.20% |
Vernon | 10/15/2020 | 401 | 7,752 | 5 | 3 | 1,324.00 | 9.9 | 0.70% |
Vilas | 10/15/2020 | 388 | 4,989 | 18 | 3 | 1,791.70 | 13.9 | 0.80% |
Walworth | 10/15/2020 | 2,989 | 25,896 | 224 | 36 | 2,912.80 | 35.1 | 1.20% |
Washburn | 10/15/2020 | 168 | 3,332 | 9 | 2 | 1,059.70 | 12.6 | 1.20% |
Washington | 10/15/2020 | 3,561 | 27,634 | 193 | 40 | 2,647.90 | 29.7 | 1.10% |
Waukesha | 10/15/2020 | 9,723 | 91,218 | 861 | 100 | 2,439.00 | 25.1 | 1.00% |
Waupaca | 10/15/2020 | 1,806 | 11,511 | 143 | 28 | 3,491.10 | 54.1 | 1.60% |
Waushara | 10/15/2020 | 710 | 7,580 | 8 | 3 | 2,922.10 | 12.3 | 0.40% |
Winnebago | 10/15/2020 | 6,831 | 45,418 | 278 | 48 | 4,033.80 | 28.3 | 0.70% |
Wood | 10/15/2020 | 1,226 | 17,039 | 70 | 9 | 1,656.20 | 12.2 | 0.70% |
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