City of Milwaukee Weekly COVID-19 Update

MILWAUKEE – The disease burden in the City of Milwaukee this week is 212.7 new positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over seven days and remains in the “extreme transmission” category. The percentage of positive COVID-19 test results is 15.2% and remains in the “extreme transmission” category. Additionally, based on U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, Milwaukee County moved back into the High COVID-19 Community Level.

As experts are well aware, due to the increase usage of at-home rapid antigen testing, the burden of disease in our community is likely much higher than what is reported. At-home testing is a convenient and beneficial tool to use, especially to ensure safety before gathering with others. With the increased ease of getting free COVID-19 tests shipped directly to your household, more residents are opting for this testing option, causing data to be under-reported to public health departments globally. Those who use an at-home rapid test can self-report their test results to help provide public health officials with a more comprehensive dataset.

Currently, 65.1% of city of Milwaukee adults 16 years and older are fully vaccinated, and 49.8% of fully vaccinated individuals have received a booster dose. Of children ages 5 to 11, 21% have completed their pediatric COVID-19 vaccine series and 25.2% have received at least one dose.

“The presence of the highly-transmissible BA.5 variant as the dominant variant in our community highlights the increased importance of mitigation tools,” said Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson. “While this variant is good at evading immunity, the COVID-19 vaccine is still working to protect against severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Ensuring you are up-to-date with your COVID-19 vaccines, including booster when eligible, is the best thing you can to do protect yourself from this virus. Additionally, masking, especially in crowded, indoor settings, is an effective and important tool to curb widespread transmission in our community. Please get vaccinated and mask up.”

The Milwaukee Health Department, in accordance with recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reissued a mask advisory for all individuals over the age of two years who can medically tolerate wearing a mask. All individuals, regardless of vaccination status or past COVID-19 infection, should wear a mask at all times when indoors and in a public setting. While different types of masks provide different levels of protection, it is important to remember any mask, worn consistently and snugly, is better than no mask. Higher-quality masks, such as KN95 masks and N95 respirators, can offer an additional layer of protection.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.