More cases, fewer deaths, a lot more shots in the arm

MADISON, Wis. (WBAY) – The average number of new coronavirus cases in Wisconsin is at a 4-month low. Average daily deaths are at a 3-month low. And completed vaccinations reached a new day-to-day high.

Wednesday, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) reported 1,177 new positive tests for the virus that causes COVID-19 and 14 more deaths.

This is the most new cases diagnosed in four days (which includes one day with fewer than 1,000 cases) but it’s below the 7-day average of 1,270 cases per day.

The number of deaths is also below the 7-day average of 23 per day, following the report of 40 people added to the death toll on Wednesday. The death rate remains at 1.09% of all known cases.

Deaths were reported in nine counties: Chippewa (3), Columbia (2), Kenosha (2), Marquette, Sauk, Waukesha (2), Waupaca, Waushara and Winnebago.

New coronavirus cases were identified in 66 of the 72 counties. County case and death totals appear later in this article.

The positive tests were 20% (20.06%) of the 5,866 tests the state received. By our calculations, the 7-day average positivity rate is 23.14%. These are results for people being tested or testing positive for the first time. The DHS also tracks results for people we’ve been tested more than once. In this group, the DHS calculates the 7-day average for positivity nudged up a little to 5.2% on Tuesday. This calculation is a day behind because it’s based on preliminary numbers, including negative tests undergoing further review. Counting one test per person is considered a more reliable measure of the virus’s spread in the community and is how the CDC compiles its reports.

Wisconsin is two days away from marking one year from its first coronavirus case. To date, Wisconsin has had 545,437 positive cases and almost 6,000 (5,951) deaths.

VACCINATIONS

Wednesday’s update on COVID-19 vaccinations show almost 35,00 more “shots in the arm” (34,911) over Tuesday’s report, for a total 613,247 doses given so far. That’s out of the 684,300 doses allocated to the state which aren’t part of the Pharmacy Partnership Program.

The state now has 117,367 people who completed their two-shot vaccination regimen, which is 8,654 more than the previous report — a record day-to-day increase.

Action 2 News has put together a guide of vaccination clinics and health agencies distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to people age 65 and older. CLICK HERE for locations and phone numbers and websites to register.

The DHS reported Wednesday that almost 1 in 5 residents 65 or older have received at least one dose of COVID-19. That’s an increase of about 17,000 shots over Tuesday’s numbers.

All of these vaccination numbers are preliminary as vaccinators’ reports come in, so they may include shots given over the last 1 to 3 days.

HOSPITALIZATIONS

Daily hospitalizations for COVID-19 fell back below 100, barely, with the state reporting 94 admissions in the past 24-hour period ending Wednesday. The rolling 7-day average is up very slightly from 82 to 83 patients per day. In the past year, 24,554 people have been hospitalized at some point for serious COVID-19 symptoms, which is 4.50% of all the known COVID-19 cases.

The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) said there were 637 COVID-19 patients hospitalized — the fewest since September 27 — with 173 in intensive care on Wednesday. The total number of patients continued a downward trend, 20 fewer than Tuesday, but intensive care numbers rose for a third day, by 15 patients. These figures take new admissions, discharges and deaths into account.

Fox Valley hospitals region were caring for 40 COVID-19 patients, including 6 in ICU. That’s 1 less patients than Tuesday; the number in ICU is the same as Monday and Tuesday.

Northeast region hospitals were treating 60 COVID-19 patients, including 18 in ICU. That’s 13 fewer patients overall but the same number in ICU as Tuesday.

HOSPITAL READINESS

In terms of hospital readiness, The WHA reported 264 ICU beds (18.0%) and 2,132 (19.1%) of all medical beds (ICU, intermediate care, medical surgical and negative flow isolation) are open in the state’s 134 hospitals.

The Fox Valley’s 13 hospitals had only 5 open ICU beds (4.8%) among them. They had a total 99 unoccupied medical beds (11.6%) for the eight counties they serve.

The Northeast region’s 10 hospitals had 33 ICU beds (15.9%) and 206 of all medical beds (21.5%) open for patients in seven counties.

These beds are for all patients, not just COVID-19. We use the terms “open” or “unoccupied” instead of “available” because whether a bed can be filled depends on hospitals having the staff for a patient in that bed, including doctors, nurses and food services.

There were no hospital overflow patients or patients receiving outpatient Bamlanivimab infusion therapy at the alternative care facility at State Fair Park on Wednesday.

SINCE FEBRUARY 5, 2020

The coronavirus was first diagnosed in Wisconsin in a patient in Madison one year ago this Friday. That patient was treated for symptoms and sent home to recover. Since then:

• 3,062,883 people were tested for the coronavirus (52.6% of the state’s population)
• 2,517,446 tested negative
• 545,437 tested positive
• 5,951 people died from COVID-19
• 522,361 people (95.8%) recovered
• 16,966 people (3.1%) still have active cases

WEDNESDAY’S COUNTY CASES AND DEATHS (Counties with new cases or deaths are indicated in bold) *

Wisconsin

• Adams – 1,515 cases (+4) (11 deaths)
• Ashland – 1,149 cases (+1) (16 deaths)
• Barron – 5,147 cases (+12) (71 deaths)
• Bayfield – 1,042 cases (+4) (18 deaths)
• Brown – 29,494 cases (+59) (197 deaths)
• Buffalo – 1,283 cases (+8) (7 deaths)
• Burnett – 1,113 cases (+3) (23 deaths)
• Calumet – 5,282 cases (+18) (39 deaths)
• Chippewa – 6,863 cases (+30) (83 deaths) (+3)
• Clark – 3,106 cases (+1) (56 deaths)
• Columbia – 4,856 cases (+5) (46 deaths) (+2)
• Crawford – 1,641 cases (16 deaths)
• Dane – 38,164 cases (+79) (251 deaths)
• Dodge – 11,185 cases (+11) (147 deaths)
• Door – 2,362 cases (+8) (18 deaths)
• Douglas – 3,603 cases (+7) (18 deaths)
• Dunn – 4,096 cases (+22) (26 deaths)
• Eau Claire – 10,637 cases (+40) (98 deaths)
• Florence – 427 cases (+1) (12 deaths)
• Fond du Lac – 11,605 cases (+18) (84 deaths)
• Forest – 913 cases (22 deaths) (cases revised -1 by state)
• Grant – 4,525 cases (+6) (79 deaths)
• Green – 2,774 cases (+30) (13 deaths)
• Green Lake – 1,497 cases (+5) (17 deaths)
• Iowa – 1,800 cases (9 deaths)
• Iron – 476 cases (19 deaths)
• Jackson – 2,552 cases (+2) (22 deaths)
• Jefferson – 7,614 cases (+7) (71 deaths)
• Juneau – 2,900 cases (+11) (17 deaths)
• Kenosha – 14,334 cases (+26) (277 deaths) (+2)
• Kewaunee – 2,364 cases (+6) (26 deaths)
• La Crosse – 11,815 cases (+41) (74 deaths)
• Lafayette – 1,382 cases (+5) (7 deaths)
• Langlade – 1,899 cases (+7) (31 deaths)
• Lincoln – 2,818 cases (+7) (55 deaths)
• Manitowoc – 6,979 cases (+19) (60 deaths)
• Marathon – 13,347 cases (+11) (169 deaths)
• Marinette – 3,917 cases (+5) (61 deaths)
• Marquette – 1,283 cases (+7) (22 deaths) (+1)
• Menominee – 786 cases (11 deaths)
• Milwaukee – 95,463 (+208) (1,151 deaths)
• Monroe – 4,115 cases (+17) (30 deaths)
• Oconto – 4,168 cases (+3) (47 deaths)
• Oneida – 3,223 cases (+8) (57 deaths)
• Outagamie – 18,507 cases (+28) (183 deaths)
• Ozaukee – 7,389 cases (+30) (72 deaths)
• Pepin – 782 cases (7 deaths)
• Pierce – 3,349 cases (+11) (33 deaths)
• Polk – 3,621 cases (+9) (42 deaths)
• Portage – 6,213 cases (+19) (60 deaths)
• Price – 1,114 cases (+9) (7 deaths)
• Racine – 19,901 cases (+34) (300 deaths)
• Richland – 1,234 cases (+2) (13 deaths)
• Rock – 13,840 cases (+18) (145 deaths)
• Rusk – 1,234 cases (+6) (15 deaths)
• Sauk – 5,100 cases (+5) (37 deaths) (+1)
• Sawyer – 1,425 cases (+5) (17 deaths)
• Shawano – 4,513 cases (+3) (69 deaths)
• Sheboygan – 12,491 cases (+17) (122 deaths)
• St. Croix – 6,161 cases (+10) (41 deaths)
• Taylor – 1,759 cases (+2) (20 deaths)
• Trempealeau – 3,292 cases (+12) (36 deaths)
• Vernon – 1,752 cases (+8) (34 deaths)
• Vilas – 1,982 cases (+14) (32 deaths)
• Walworth – 8,629 cases (+6) (119 deaths)
• Washburn – 1,240 cases (+4) (18 deaths)
• Washington – 13,350 cases (+33) (124 deaths)
• Waukesha – 39,302 cases (+84) (450 deaths) (+2)
• Waupaca – 4,636 cases (+4) (108 deaths) (+1)
• Waushara – 2,051 cases (+5) (26 deaths) (+1)
• Winnebago – 16,597 cases (+18) (170 deaths) (+1)
• Wood – 6,459 cases (+20) (67 deaths)

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula **

• Alger – 274 cases (+2) (1 death)
• Baraga – 491 cases (+4) (31 deaths)
• Chippewa – 704 cases (+3) (20 deaths)
• Delta – 2,617 cases (+2) (63 deaths)
• Dickinson – 2,100 cases (+2) (55 deaths)
• Gogebic – 866 cases (+11) (18 deaths) (+1)
• Houghton – 2,002 cases (+4) (32 deaths)
• Iron – 856 cases (+2) (39 deaths)
• Keweenaw – 105 cases (1 death)
• Luce – 130 cases
• Mackinac – 278 cases (3 deaths)
• Marquette – 3,412 cases (+5) (53 deaths)
• Menominee – 1,595 cases (+2) (33 deaths)
• Ontonagon – 337 cases (+2) (17 deaths)
• Schoolcraft – 228 cases (+1) (4 deaths)

* Cases and deaths are from the daily DHS COVID-19 reports, which may differ from local health department numbers. The 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.

The DHS reports deaths attributed to COVID-19 or in which COVID-19 contributed to their death. Most of the people severely affected by the coronavirus have underlying illnesses or conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease or obesity, which raises a person’s risk of dying from COVID-19. They would’ve lived longer if not for their infection. The state may revise case and death numbers after further review, such as the victim’s residence, duplicated records, or a correction in lab results. Details can be found on the DHS website and Frequently Asked Questions.

**The state of Michigan does not update numbers on Sundays. Monday’s numbers include updates since Saturday’s reporting deadline.

COVID-19 Tracing App

Wisconsin’s COVID-19 tracing app, “Wisconsin Exposure Notification,” is available for iOS and Android smartphones. No download is required for iPhones. The Android app is available on Google Play. When two phones with the app (and presumably their owners) are close enough, for long enough, they’ll anonymously share a random string of numbers via Bluetooth. If someone tests positive for the coronavirus, they’ll receive a code to type into the app. If your phones “pinged” each other in the last 14 days, you’ll receive a push notification that you are at risk of exposure. The app doesn’t collect personal information or location information, so you won’t know from whom or where, but you will be told what day the exposure might have occurred so that you can quarantine for the appropriate amount of time.

Symptoms

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified these as possible symptoms of COVID-19:

• Fever of 100.4 or higher
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Chills
• Repeated shaking with chills
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Sore throat
• New loss of taste or smell

Prevention

• The coronavirus is a new, or “novel,” virus. Nobody has a natural immunity to it.
• Children and teens seem to recover best from the virus. Older people and those with underlying health conditions (heart disease, diabetes, lung disease) are considered at high risk, according to the CDC. Precautions are also needed around people with developing or weakened immune systems.
• To help prevent the spread of the virus:
• Stay at least six feet away from other people
• Avoid close contact with people who are or appear sick
• Stay at home as much as possible
• Cancel events and avoid groups, gatherings, play dates and nonessential appointments

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