County Experiencing Low Level Of COVID-19

The COVID-19 disease burden in Milwaukee County has been steadily going down for weeks. A new report shows the trend continuing, as some indicators of disease hit their lowest points in months.

This data on disease in the county comes from a weekly epidemiological report produced by epidemiologists and faculty from the Medical College of Wisconsin and UW-Milwaukee and public health officials.

Notably, the most recent weekly positivity rate, from Feb. 23 to March 1, was 2.7% countywide. This number represents the percentage of tests that came back positive for COVID-19 this past week. This number does not include rapid antigen tests or at-home tests. The county has not seen positivity this low since summer 2021.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially downgraded the county’s community level of COVID-19 to “low” this week.

There were 314 new cases of COVID-19 during that seven-day period, down from 509 the week prior. Among children, there were 79, down from 146.

249 adults and 61 children were hospitalized with COVID-19. That’s down from 349 among adults and 72 among children the previous week.

There were three deaths due to COVID-19 reported this past week, and eight the week before.

The latest data on transmission, from Feb. 16-22, shows the county was suppressing disease. The transmission rate was below 1.0, which measures how many people, on average, will contract COVID-19 from a single confirmed case.

The county has 64.2% of all COVID-19 vaccine eligible residents (5 years and older)  completely vaccinated. Meanwhile, 58.1% of county residents eligible for the booster (12 years and older) have received one.