Wisconsin Surpasses 40,000 Coronavirus Cases, 5 More Dead

MADISON, Wisconsin Wisconsin exceeded the total of 40,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

County and state health officials confirmed an additional 822 cases since Thursday, bringing the state total to 40,722 * confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic. Of all confirmed cases, 20.8%, or 8,411 cases, are still active. At least 837 people have died of complications from their infections, five more than Thursday afternoon.

Data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services shows that 13,407 people were tested for the virus as of Thursday. DHS reported Friday that 6.6% of new tests tested positive on Friday, representing a three-tenths percentage point increase from Thursday.

Health officials continue to work to increase the state’s testing capacity to better control the spread of the virus. According to DHS, the state has a daily testing capacity of 24,162 tests. Eighty-three laboratories across the state are conducting tests, and 24 more plan to test in the future. However, according to DHS data, only two new labs have started testing since June 15, despite DHS reporting for weeks that numerous labs have plans to join the effort.

Events across the state have been canceled due to the ongoing pandemic. On Friday afternoon, Ironman announced that the 2020 triathlons in Madison were postponed to 2021.

Rock County health officials announced Thursday that they plan to make mandatory masks at all county-run facilities beginning Monday. The move comes shortly after Dane County made the mandatory masks earlier this week.

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