After setting new record highs last week, new reports of COVID-19 cases are down in Wisconsin, according to the latest data published by the state’s Department of Health Services.
The average for the past seven days remains at an all-time high, rising to 697 cases per day after Monday’s 494 new cases.
On Saturday, the state saw a record-high daily total of 926 cases. On Sunday, DHS reported 769 new cases.
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The latest figures bring the overall total of positive cases in Wisconsin to 36,942, according to DHS. A total of 820 people in Wisconsin have died from COVID-19, with no new deaths reported on Monday.
According to DHS, 7.5 percent of all test results reported on Monday were positive for COVID-19, bringing the average percentage of positive tests over the past seven days to 6.7. The seven-day average a week ago was 7 percent.
The percentage of positive tests 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 the virus. A lower rate could indicate testing is more widespread.
Changes in the test positivity rate can also speak to a virus’ spread, if the size and makeup of the testing pool stays consistent.
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 24,362 as of Monday. The number of actual tests reported on Monday was 6,621.
Overall, DHS has recorded a total of 696,421 over the course of the pandemic. 659,479 have come back negative.
The DHS website says that “multiple tests per person are not included in these summary statistics.”
COVID-19 activity varies heavily from county to county. The latest coronavirus activity data from DHS, released once per week each Wednesday, showed that 47 counties had a “high level” of coronavirus activity. Activity level designations are based on “burden,” or 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.
On July 8, counties with the highest case rates per capita included Dane, Milwaukee and Trempealeau. The counties with the most significant upward trends included Marquette, Monroe and Sheboygan.
There have been confirmed cases in all 72 of Wisconsin’s counties, although according to the DHS, four counties have had no new cases over the past two weeks.
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DHS still has a dashboard showing Wisconsin’s progress on gating criteria under the now-defunct Badger Bounce Back Plan. Those gating criteria would have been used to determine when it would be safe to begin reopening the state, prior to the state Supreme Court ruling that ended a statewide stay-at-home order. The state has never met all six of the criteria at once.
Two of the criteria are a statistically significant 14-day downward trend in COVID-like cases reported in emergency departments, and a similar downward trend for influenza-like cases in emergency departments. The state currently does not meet either of those criteria.
According to DHS, 3,850 people have been hospitalized because of the virus as of Monday. That means at least 10.4 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 11,972 people, or 32 percent.
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