MADISON, Wis. (WBAY) – Wisconsin’s 7-day average for new coronavirus cases is back over 2,000, erasing progress made against the COVID-19 virus since October 18.
The Department of Health Services (DHS) says tests identified 2,634 new cases in the past day, bringing the rolling average to 2,075 cases per day, up from 1,996. Wisconsin now has a total 804,872 confirmed infections since the pandemic reached Wisconsin. The state topped 800,000 cases Thursday. Dodge County passed 15,000 cases and Outagamie County passed 26,000.
The positivity rate — the percentage of all tests that come back positive for the virus — rose to a 7-day average of 8.6%, its highest level since October 13.
Wisconsin is averaging 13 COVID-19 deaths per day, up from 11 on Thursday and 8 on Wednesday. The DHS says 17 more deaths were just reported to the state, but 7 of them happened more than 30 days ago, so they aren’t counted towards the 7-day average. Manitowoc and Outagamie counties each reported 3 deaths; Brown and Langlade counties each reported 1. The death toll is now 8,597, or 1.07% of all cases.
For the second time in three weeks, fewer than 100 hospitalizations were reported in a 24-hour period. DHS numbers show 96 more COVID-19 admissions, bringing our calculated 7-day average down to 105 hospitalizations per day over the last week. A total 43,114 people have been hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment, or about 1 in 19 cases. In its last update of the week, the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) reported 947 COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized, including 252 in intensive care — that’s 20 more patients since Thursday after taking discharges and deaths into account, but 12 fewer in intensive care. The Northeast health care region hospitals have 126 of those patients, 32 in ICU — 4 fewer in ICU and 10 fewer overall than the day before. The Fox Valley health care region was treating 77 patients, including 7 in ICU — 4 fewer in ICU but no change in the number of patients overall.
VACCINATIONS
The DHS revised the number (and thus the percentage) of Wisconsinites completing their COVID-19 vaccine series. We don’t know if this is related to technical issues the state experienced with updating data over the past two weeks, but the total number of completed vaccinations went down by 3,337, or 0.1% statewide. Five counties in our area saw their completed-vaccination numbers revised downward: Calumet, Fond du Lac, Marinette, Waupaca and Winnebago. Winnebago County saw the sharpest change, -0.2%.
The number of new vaccinations continued to increase — and that doesn’t include the 5-to-11 age group that just began receiving kid-sized doses of a COVID-19 vaccine this week (see related story for details); the state hasn’t begun to report numbers for that age group, but we expect to see numbers next week.
Wisconsinites getting COVID-19 vaccine, by age group (Thursday) (and change since last report)
- 12-15: 48.6% received vaccine (+0.1)/45.2% fully vaccinated (+0.1)
- 16-17: 53.2% received vaccine (+0.1)/49.9% fully vaccinated (+0.0)
- 18-24: 53.4% received vaccine (+0.1)/49.0% fully vaccinated (-0.1)
- 25-34: 58.1% received vaccine (+0.1)/54.0% fully vaccinated (+0.0)
- 35-44: 65.3% received vaccine (+0.0)/61.8% fully vaccinated (+0.0)
- 45-54: 66.2% received vaccine (+0.0)/63.2% fully vaccinated (+0.0)
- 55-64: 74.6% received vaccine (+0.0)/71.9% fully vaccinated (-0.1)
- 65 and up: 86.8% received vaccine (+0.1)/83.7% fully vaccinated (-0.2)
The state health department says 58.1% of Wisconsin’s population received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, or 3,380,531 people. That includes 69.3% of adults.
After the revision, 55.1% of the state population, including 65.9% of adults, completed the vaccination series, with both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
VACCINATIONS BY COUNTY POPULATION (FRIDAY)
| County (Population) (Health region) | % of population (change from previous report) | Completed % of population (change from previous report) |
|---|---|---|
| Brown (264,542) (NE) | 59.0% (+0.1) | 56.6% (+0.0) |
| Calumet (50,089) (FV) | 52.4% (+0.0) | 50.2% (-0.1) |
| Dodge (87,839) | 47.6% (+0.0) | 45.4% (+0.0) |
| Door (27,668) (NE) | 73.6% (+0.1) | 70.2% (+0.1) |
| Fond du Lac (103,403) (SE) | 50.9% (+0.0) | 48.5% (-0.1) |
| Forest (9,004) | 48.4% (+0.1) | 46.2% (+0.1) |
| Florence (4,295) (NE) | 48.2% (+0.1) | 46.2% (+0.1) |
| Green Lake (18,913) (FV) | 52.5% (+0.0) | 50.0% (+0.0) |
| Kewaunee (20,434) (NE) | 48.1% (+0.1) | 46.3% (+0.0) |
| Langlade (19,189) | 49.9% (+0.0) | 47.5% (+0.1) |
| Manitowoc (78,981) (NE) | 55.2% (+0.0) | 53.0% (+0.0) |
| Marinette (40,350) (NE) | 48.9% (+0.1) | 46.3% (-0.1) |
| Menominee (4,556) (FV) | 70.5% (+0.2) | 68.3% (+0.1) |
| Oconto (37,930) (NE) | 49.4% (+0.0) | 47.5% (+0.0) |
| Outagamie (187,885) (FV) | 58.4% (+0.1) | 55.8% (+0.0) |
| Shawano (40,899) (FV) | 43.9% (+0.1) | 42.0% (+0.0) |
| Sheboygan (115,340) (SE) | 56.6% (+0.0) | 54.1% (+0.0) |
| Waupaca (50,990) (FV) | 51.1% (+0.0) | 48.6% (-0.1) |
| Waushara (24,443) (FV) | 42.2% (+0.0) | 40.3% (+0.1) |
| Winnebago (171,907) (FV) | 56.4% (+0.1) | 53.6% (-0.2) |
| NORTHEAST REGION (474,200) (NE) | 270,413 (57.0%) (+0.0) | 259,095 (54.6%) (-0.1) |
| FOX VALLEY REGION (549,682) (FV) | 300,226 (54.6%) (+0.0) | 286,562 (52.1%) (-0.1) |
| WISCONSIN (5,822,434) | 3,380,531 (58.1%) (+0.1) | 3,210,654 (55.1%) (-0.1) |
Oconto County Public Health plans several booster dose vaccine clinics in November. The booster is available to anyone 18 or older who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or people who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and meet certain eligibility requirements: 65 years or older, or adults who work or live in high-risk settings, live in long-term care settings, or have underlying medical conditions. Appointments are required and can be made by calling (920) 834-6846. The appointment line is available weekdays from 9 A.M. to 2 P.M. until all appointments are filled. Don’t leave a message; call again.
Bellin Health is offering “mix-and-match” COVID-19 vaccine boosters at its Ashwaubenon community vaccination site, the Green Bay Fastlane drive-thru testing site and all primary care clinics and FastCare locations. According to Bellin, it’s offering the mix-and-match option to eligible patients at all vaccination sites. Eligible Bellin patients and the general public may schedule a booster, initial or second COVID-19 vaccine dose through a MyBellinHealth account or by calling 920-445-7313.
The community vaccination clinic inside Fox River Mall in Grand Chute is open from 11 A.M. to 7 P.M. on select dates through December 15. The list of dates will be updated on the Outagamie County website. No appointment is necessary for this walk-in clinic, which is located near the food court and Scheel’s. There’s no cost and no ID required.
COVID-19 TESTING SITES
The City of Appleton expanded its testing and vaccination clinics at the old Best Buy building, 2411 S. Kensington Dr. The site offers walk-in testing Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Walk-in vaccination clinics are on Thursdays from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. and Fridays from 7 A.M. to 12 P.M. Pre-registration isn’t required, but it’s encouraged to speed up the process.
Walk-in or drive-through COVID-19 testing is available at Sunnyview Expo Center weekdays from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., with the Wisconsin National Guard handling the testing. Registration is encouraged at www.winnebagopublichealth.org. Testing is recommended (and free) for anyone as young as 1 year old who’s been in close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19 or has symptoms of COVID-19, which can include fever, chills, cough, difficulty breathing, sore throat, runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, headache, muscle ache, or sudden loss of taste or smell. Results are usually back within 48 hours.
FRIDAY’S COUNTY CASE AND DEATH TOTALS (increases in cases or deaths since the last report are in bold) **
- Brown – 41,103 cases (+98) (273 deaths) (+1)
- Calumet – 7,382 cases (+21) (55 deaths)
- Dickinson (Mich.)* – 3,134 cases (+15) (67 deaths)
- Dodge – 15,015 cases (+68) (200 deaths)
- Door – 3,619 cases (+10) (34 deaths)
- Florence – 548 cases (+2) (14 deaths)
- Fond du Lac – 17,133 cases (+95) (153 deaths)
- Forest – 1,435 cases (+2) (28 deaths)
- Gogebic (Mich.)* – 1,453 cases (+7) (25 deaths)
- Green Lake – 2,539 cases (+8) (27 deaths)
- Iron (Mich.)* – 1,357 cases (+8) (47 deaths)
- Kewaunee – 3,034 cases (+12) (32 deaths)
- Langlade – 3,057 cases (+14) (41 deaths) (+1)
- Manitowoc – 10,267 cases (+29) (88 deaths) (+3)
- Marinette – 6,069 cases (+36) (72 deaths)
- Menominee (Mich.)* – 2,625 cases (+13) (46 deaths)
- Menominee – 955 cases (+1) (11 deaths)
- Oconto – 6,130 cases (+14) (66 deaths)
- Outagamie – 26,038 cases (+73) (249 deaths)
- Shawano – 6,215 cases (+34) (78 deaths)
- Sheboygan – 17,357 cases (+62) (169 deaths)
- Waupaca – 6,864 cases (+30) (141 deaths)
- Waushara – 3,108 cases (+11) (48 deaths)
- Winnebago – 23,861 cases (+93) (243 deaths) (+3)
* You can find cases and deaths for all 72 Wisconsin counties on the DHS County Data website. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Wisconsin Hospital Association do not publish updates on weekends. Michigan Department of Health updates information on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
** Cases and deaths are from state COVID-19 reports, which may differ from local health department numbers. The Wisconsin DHS reports cases from all health departments within a county’s boundaries, including tribal, municipal and county health departments; county websites may not. Also, public health departments update their data at various times, whereas the DHS freezes the numbers it receives by the same time every day to compile the afternoon report.
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