Milwaukee Has Lowest Case Count Since Early Pandemic
The rate of vaccination among Black and Hispanic residents increased during past month.
COVID-19 trends in Milwaukee County continue to point to decreasing levels of disease.
The general trend since vaccinations began in earnest several months ago has been one of increasingly lower levels of COVID-19 in Milwaukee County.
Darren Rausch, director of the Greenfield Health Department, said, “We have not seen cases this low, as far as seven day averages since very, very early in the outbreak.”
In recent days there have only been a few dozen cases of COVID-19 identified across the county, he said. The current seven-day average for the county is below 100 cases, according to the weekly report.
There were three deaths due to COVID-19 in the county during the past week. During the previous two weeks the county recorded zero COVID-19 related deaths.
The transmission rate, which measures how many people, on average, will become infected by a single case of COVID-19, remains below 1.0, which means the community is suppressing the disease.
The positivity rate, which measures what percentage of tests come back positive for COVID-19, was 1.9% for the entire county this past week. It was 2.2% in the city and 1.4% in the suburbs.
In the City of Milwaukee, the gating criteria from the Milwaukee Health Department indicates moderate to low transmission of disease is occurring in the city. The current case burden is approximately 27 cases per 100,000 people, which indicates moderate transmission. The positivity rate of 2.2% indicates low transmission, according to the health department.
So far, more than 773,000 doses of vaccine have been administered countywide. More than 367,000 county residents have completed the vaccination process, which is approximately 38% of the population. It’s also behind the state as a whole. Currently, approximately 42% of the state has completed the vaccination process.
Vaccination is generally rising among all age groups. County residents between 60 and 79 years old have the highest level of vaccination, more than 75%, according to a weekly county vaccination report. They are also among the most at risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19.
Racial disparities in vaccination persist. White residents still have the highest rate of vaccination, followed closely by Asian residents. Hispanic residents and Black residents have the lowest rates of vaccination in that order.
The report does show that starting in late April the rate of vaccination among Hispanic and Black county residents was starting to rise.
Racial disparities are also present in health outcomes from COVID-19. Black residents in the county continue to have the highest rate of hospitalization, and make up a disproportionate number of the county’s hospitalizations due to COVID-19.
American Indian and Alaskan Native residents still have the highest rate of death, Hispanic residents have the highest rate of disease, while white residents have the most cumulative cases.
Read the weekly report here. Read the children’s report here. Read the vaccination report here.
More about the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Statement From the Office of Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley - County Executive David Crowley - Jun 29th, 2022
- State Begins Vaccines For Youngest People - Erik Gunn - Jun 22nd, 2022
- DHS Recommends COVID-19 Vaccines for Everyone Age 6 Months and Older - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Jun 21st, 2022
- Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake’s Statement on CDC’s COVID-19 Pediatric Vaccine Recommendations and Expansion to Children Under Age 5 - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Jun 18th, 2022
- MKE County: New COVID-19 Cases Down Slightly This Past Week - Graham Kilmer - Jun 17th, 2022
- City of Milwaukee Weekly COVID-19 Update - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Jun 17th, 2022
- MKE County: County Sees “Plateau” In New COVID-19 Cases - Graham Kilmer - Jun 10th, 2022
- City of Milwaukee Weekly COVID-19 Update - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Jun 10th, 2022
- High Court Okays Release of COVID-19 Workplace Data - Erik Gunn - Jun 8th, 2022
- MKE County: COVID-19 Cases Show Slight Decrease - Graham Kilmer - Jun 3rd, 2022
Read more about Coronavirus Pandemic here
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