DHS: State Has Now Had Over 25K Reported COVID-19 Cases

There have been 25,068 positive cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin as of Monday, according to the state Department of Health Services. That’s an increase of 249 cases from the day before.

According to health officials, 745 people in Wisconsin have died from COVID-19 as of Monday afternoon, with one new death reported since Sunday.

DHS reported 466,634 total negative tests for the coronavirus, an increase of 6,300 from Sunday to Monday.

Wisconsin’s daily testing capacity — based on the availability of test supplies and adequate staffing — has grown from 120 available lab tests in early March to 17,668 as of Sunday. The number of actual tests reported on Monday was 6,549.

An increase in testing is one reason for the increase in the number of positive cases. The percentage of positive tests was 4 percent on Monday — down from 4.6 percent the day before.

As of Friday, Wisconsin was seeing a 14-day downward trajectory in reports of COVID-like cases, but the department is no longer reporting a downward trajectory of positive tests as a percent of total tests within a 14-day period.

According to DHS, 3,231 people have been hospitalized because of the virus as of Monday. That means at least 13 percent of people who have tested positive for the new coronavirus in the state have been hospitalized. DHS officials said they don’t know the hospitalization history of 7,302 people, or 29 percent.

There have been confirmed cases in all 72 of Wisconsin’s counties, though not all cases are currently active. Milwaukee County — the hardest hit in the state — surpassed 10,000 cases of COVID-19 last week. There were 10,355 recorded cases as of Monday.