Evers Will Extend Mask Mandate As DHS Reports 2,269 COVID-19 Cases

As Gov. Tony Evers announced he will issue a new public health emergency to extend the statewide mask mandate for an additional 60 days, new reports of COVID-19 cases are averaging at around 2,300 cases per day in Wisconsin, based on the latest data published by the state Department of Health Services.

DHS reported 2,269 new cases of the disease Friday, bringing the average for the past seven days to 2,319 daily cases. One week ago, the average was 2,715 cases.

There were 32 new deaths from COVID-19 reported Friday. On Friday, 5,771 tested negative.

Of the people who got tested for COVID-19 over the past week, 25.9 percent were positive for the disease, according to DHS. That rate has been declining since early January, but remains fairly high.

The positivity rate is often read by public health officials as a measure of overall testing levels. A high rate could indicate that testing in the state is limited, and skewed toward those already flagged as potentially having COVID-19. A lower rate could indicate testing is more widespread. Changes in the test positivity rate can also speak to COVID-19’s spread, if the size and makeup of the testing pool stays consistent.

DHS also tracks the percentage of tests that are positive, instead of the percentage of people who get a positive result. The metric takes into account people who have been tested multiple times. The seven-day average for that number is 8.5 percent.

On Dec. 29, DHS officials began sharing vaccine data information, which will be updated every Tuesday. According to a DHS news release, the vaccine data includes “summary metrics for allocation, shipment and total vaccine administered, as well as a graph displaying the number of vaccinations administered per day.”

According to the DHS, 607,650 doses of the vaccine has been allocated across Wisconsin as of Tuesday, an increase of 187,450 from the last update. Currently, 213,056 doses of the vaccines have been administered while 373,100 have been shipped. Of the two vaccines approved for use, 140,058 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered while 72,997 doses are the Moderna vaccine. According to DHS deputy secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk, nearly 31,000 Wisconsinites have received both doses of the two-dose vaccine regimen.

A graph showing the daily number of vaccinations across the state saw a steady increase in doses administered over the first full week of 2021. Preliminary data shows between 11,000 and 17,000 doses given each day this week.

According to the Wisconsin Hospital Association, there were 998 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of Thursday. A total of 22,923 people have been hospitalized because of the disease, or 4.4 percent of all positive cases.

The latest figures bring the overall total of positive cases in Wisconsin to 518,251, according to DHS. A total of 5,322 people in Wisconsin have died from COVID-19.

COVID-19 activity varies from county to county. The latest activity data from DHS, released Wednesday, showed Menominee, Juneau and Buffalo counties with a “critically high” level of COVID-19 activity, while 63 counties were listed as having a “very high” level of activity. Six counties had a “high” level of activity. The number of Wisconsin counties at a “critically high” level of COVID-19 activity has been increasing. Wisconsin’s overall level is “very high.”

COVID-19 activity designations are based on the number of new cases per a county’s population over a 14-day period, as well as whether there’s an upward or downward trend in new cases.

As of Wednesday, all seven of Wisconsin’s regions had “very high” levels of activity. The Fox Valley was listed as “growing” in activity, while the Western region saw decreasing COVID-19 activity. The remainder saw no significant change in disease activity, according to DHS.

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 59,275 as of Friday. The number of actual people with new test results reported Friday was 8,040.

A total of 2,945,882 people have been tested over the course of the pandemic. Of those, 2,427,631 have tested negative.

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