Even though Wisconsin set a one-day record for COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the rate of new cases has dropped from its all-time high of July, reaching the seven-day average at its lowest point in a month.
The Department of Health Services reported 478 positive results from more than 9,900 tests on Wednesday, for a positivity rate of 4.8%.
These are the smallest new cases since 3 August and the lowest positivity figure since 6 August.
The seven-day average of newly reported cases fell to 760, the lowest since July 13 (when it was 697).
Five more people died fighting the virus, according to DHS, bringing the state’s official toll to 1,011.
A new feature on the health department’s data website on Wednesday showed that the positivity rate in recent days may have been somewhat disrupted – lower than it should be – due to delays with analysis and manually confirming test results.
These delays have led to delays in negative testing, causing more recent positive results not to match older negative results in the manually confirmed figures reported daily by DHS. This means that the positivity period has been higher for some days than it should be, and some days it has been lower.
Preliminary data from Tuesday’s tests show 457 out of 6,083 people tested positive, at a rate of 7.5%. Including these preliminary data, the seven-day average of test positivity is 7.4%, compared to 6.3% with the confirmed test results.
RELATED: The death toll from COVID-19 in Wisconsin is over 1,000. Here’s a look at who dies, and how the rate compares to other leading causes of death.
Despite the recent dip in new cases, COVID-19 activity levels remain “high” in Wisconsin – and, specifically, in only six of their counties – according to the Department of Health’s regular updates to its weekly assessments.
DHS bases its activity ratings on a combination of total new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks, and the percentage change in new cases between the past seven days and the seven days before.
The state as a whole has seen 194 cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks.
The highest rates over the past 14 days were in Marinette (428), Barron (355), Sawyer (332), Lafayette (314), Racine (287), Waupaca (282), Waukesha (281), Milwaukee (278) and Washington (274).
The lowest were in Pepin (27), Forst (33), Green Lake (37) and Buffalo (37).
Some counties saw extreme leaps in new cases. Barron County has confirmed 163 of its total 308 cases in the past two weeks. Sawyer confirmed 55 of a total of 82, and Marinette confirmed 175 of 432.
The following are state rating levels per province. Parentheses reflect a change in the activity level of the previous week’s assessment.
- High: Adams, Ashland, Barron, Bayfield (up), Brown, Burnett, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence (up), Fond du Lac, Grant, Green , Iowa, Iron, Jackson, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Langlade, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Price, Racine, Richland, Rock (up), Rusk (up), Sauk, Sawyer, Shawano, Sheboygan, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, Vernon, Vilas, Walworth, Washburn, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago en Wood
- Medium: Buffalo (down), Forest (down), Green Lake, Juneau (down), Lincoln (down) and Pepin (down)
Of 62,263 Wisconsin residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, 52,350 – or 84% – are reported to have been “repaired” by DHS.
DHS considers that one has recovered if they both have: 1. documented evidence that their symptoms have resolved or their isolation has ended, or 2. more than 30 days have passed since diagnosis was completed. In rare cases, the recovery may take longer than 30 days.
At least 5,125 of those residents who tested positive were admitted to the hospital, although DHS does not know if one in about a third of the cases is hospitalized.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Wisconsin hospitals reported 364 total COVID-19 patients – up from 414 on Monday afternoon – with 111 in intensive care.
Another 221 patients were awaiting COVID-19 test results.
Globally, more than 20.4 million cases were confirmed as of Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University, and nearly 745,000 people had died.
The US counted about 5.2 million cases and 165,000 deaths.
Contact Matt Piper at (920) 810-7164 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @matthew_piper.
