COVID-19 Hospitalizations, Deaths Declining
Testing shows that there is still significant disease in community, but trends are headed in the right direction.
Milwaukee County daily number of COVID-19 cases
For the first time in weeks, all major indicators of disease are trending downward in Milwaukee County.
“Overall, our trends are moving in the right direction,” said Dr. Ben Weston, chief health policy advisor for Milwaukee County, during a Tuesday media briefing.
Hospitalizations and deaths, which typically spike after cases spike because of how long it takes for COVID-19 to cause severe illness, are finally going down.
There were 677 people hospitalized with COVID-19 this past week, compared to 862 the week prior; and there were 20 deaths due to COVID-19 reported this past week, compared to 25 the week prior.
Cases began going down a few weeks ago, after the surge in disease caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant peaked.
A weekly report produced by epidemiologists and faculty from the Medical College of Wisconsin and UW-Milwaukee and public health officials shows this trend continuing.
This past week, there were 1,346 cases of COVID-19, the week prior there were 2,259 cases. This trend is also reflected in cases among children, of which there were 411 reported this past week and 638 the week prior.
The positivity rate, which measures the percentage of tests that come back positive for COVID-19, continues to drop countywide, but it is still high. It was 10.7% this past week, down from 13.1% the week prior.
The county’s latest available transmission rate continues to reflect community suppression of the disease. The transmission rate indicates how many people, on average, are likely to become infected by a single case of COVID-19. The latest data on transmission is from the seven days running from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1. During that time, the county’s transmission rate was .76. Any rate below 1.0 indicates community suppression.
The vaccination rate among county residents eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine (5 years and older) was 63.3% as of Feb. 7, according to a countywide vaccination report. A week prior, the vaccination rate was 62.8%
Among those eligible for a booster shot (12 years and older) 58% were boosted, up from 57% the week prior.
Read the weekly report here. Read the children’s report here. Read the vaccine report here.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
More about the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Governors Tony Evers, JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, and Gretchen Whitmer Issue a Joint Statement Concerning Reports that Donald Trump Gave Russian Dictator Putin American COVID-19 Supplies - Gov. Tony Evers - Oct 11th, 2024
- MHD Release: Milwaukee Health Department Launches COVID-19 Wastewater Testing Dashboard - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Jan 23rd, 2024
- 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
Read more about Coronavirus Pandemic here
