DHS: 5,687 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases In Wisconsin

There are 5,687 positive cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, the state Department of Health Services announced Saturday. That’s an increase of 331 cases from the day before. It’s the largest single-day increase in positive cases the state has seen since the outbreak started.

According to figures from DHS, 266 people in Wisconsin have died from COVID-19 as of Saturday afternoon.

DHS reports 1,376 people have been hospitalized because of the virus. That means at least 24 percent of people who have tested positive for the new coronavirus in the state have been hospitalized. DHS officials have said they don’t know the hospitalization history of 18 percent of cases.

Across the state, 57,138 people have tested negative for the virus so far. From Friday to Saturday, the number of negative test results increased by 2,565.

There has been a significant spike in cases in Brown County in recent days. Health officials said they believe the increase is connected to a rash of cases at meatpacking facilities. As of Saturday afternoon, Brown County had 720 positive cases of the new coronavirus — 115 more than Friday.

With recent increases in testing capacity, health officials have loosened restrictions on who can get tested, subject to the availability of testing supplies.

Wisconsin has 48 labs performing COVID-19 tests, up from eight labs one month ago, Gov. Tony Evers said earlier this week. According to DHS, they’re able to process more than 10,000 samples per day.

There are confirmed cases in 66 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties.

The following counties have no confirmed cases as of Saturday afternoon: Burnett, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Pepin and Taylor.

As of Friday, nearly 2,500 Wisconsinites had recovered from COVID-19, according to DHS data.