City of Milwaukee Weekly COVID-19 Update

MILWAUKEE – The disease burden in the City of Milwaukee this week decreased to 71.5 new positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over seven days and moved down into the “substantial transmission” category. The percentage of positive COVID-19 test results decreased to 4.4% and moved into the “low transmission” category. These gating metrics have not been in these respective categories since July 2021.

Currently, 63.2% of city of Milwaukee adults 16 years and older are fully vaccinated and 68.7% have received at least their first dose. Additionally, 45.1% of fully vaccinated individuals have received a booster dose. Of children ages 5 to 11, 16.1% have completed their pediatric COVID-19 vaccine series and 21.5% have received at least one dose.

T

he vaccines are effectively doing their job. Like all other medical interventions, no vaccine is 100% effective. However, the COVID-19 vaccine significantly reduces the risk of getting infected, hospitalized, or dying, and the addition of a booster dose further reduces these risks. The Milwaukee Health Department continues to provide free COVID-19 vaccines and booster doses six days a week without an appointment.

As the nation enters a new phase of the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a new and refined approach to monitoring COVID-19 in communities. The COVID-19 Community Level is determined by looking at the combination of three metrics: new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 population in the past seven days, the seven-day average percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days.

“The announcement of this new CDC guidance does not mean the COVID-19 pandemic is over,” said Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson. “Living with COVID-19 will require us to use all we have learned over the past two years. This means putting proven public health strategies in place when they are needed to prevent serious illness and death, stop our hospitals from being overwhelmed, and protect our community. As public health officials, our primary goal is to protect people at high risk for severe illness or death by ensuring equitable access to vaccination, testing, support services, and information.”

The Milwaukee Health Department will internally review this new federal guidance and determine the best course of action to protect the public health of our city. The mask ordinance for the city of Milwaukee remains in effect through March 1, pending a discussion from the Common Council. More information regarding the CDC’s announcement can be found on their website.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.