Wisconsin’s Coronavirus Dashboard

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By Pat Kreitlow

May 15, 2020

Statistics tracking the pandemic and the efforts to get the outbreak under control

This page contains occasional updates on progress indicators and the human toll of the outbreak at state, national and worldwide levels.

Sept. 28, 2020 – Wisconsin set another new single-day record daily number of new coronavirus infections over the weekend, and Monday’s figures show a record number of COVID-19 patients in Wisconsin hospitals.

In weekend data reported by the state Department of Health Services, there were 1,726 new cases recorded on Monday, 2,217 on Sunday, and a record 2,817 on Saturday.

The number of COVID-19 patients needing hospital care is now 640, as tracked by the Wisconsin Hospital Association. The figure has nearly doubled in two weeks. And the 173 needing intensive care is approaching the record of 196 from early April.

Monday’s new positive tests made up 22% of 7,885 total tests processed. 

Two deaths reported Monday bring the state’s coronavirus death toll to 1,283.


CLICK HERE to see the Wisconsin Department of Health Services site which includes a report at 2 p.m. daily.

CLICK HERE to see the DHS dashboard of six indicators which measure progress toward resuming pre-outbreak activities.

CLICK HERE to see the global dashboard of pandemic statistics maintained by Johns Hopkins University.


In this map furnished by the Wis. Dept. of Health Services for its Sept. 23, 2020 weekly report on county-level COVID-19 activity, all of the state's 72 counties have a high level of coronavirus activity.
In this map furnished by the Wis. Dept. of Health Services for its Sept. 23, 2020 weekly report on county-level COVID-19 activity, all of the state’s 72 counties have a high level of coronavirus activity.

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Previous Summaries

Sept. 25, 2020 – Just like last Friday, the state of Wisconsin has counted more than 2,500 new coronavirus infections in a single day, as reported by the state Department of Health Services. The 2,504 cases today is exceeded only by the 2,533 reported one week ago.

Going back to one week ago Thursday, Wisconsin has reported more than 2,000 new daily cases five of the past nine days, and more than 18,000 total.

The state also saw another new record in COVID-19 patients currently needing hospital care as tracked by the Wisconsin Hospital Association. There are 543 COVID-19 hospital patients, 147 of them in intensive care. There were 342 patients last Friday, an additional 201 hospital beds filled in a week, or a gain of 58%.

Friday’s new positive tests made up 16.6% of 15,079 total tests processed. 

Nine deaths from COVID-19 were reported on Friday, bringing the Wisconsin death toll from the outbreak to 1,274. The US death toll reached 203,000.


Sept. 24, 2020 – Thursday’s 2,392 new COVID-19 cases make up the second-highest daily total reported by the state Department of Health Services. The state also saw another new record in COVID-19 patients currently needing hospital care as tracked by the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

Six deaths reported Wednesday bring the state’s death toll to 1,265.

Thursday’s new positive tests made up 18% of 13,279 total tests processed. Over the past seven days, the positivity rate in Wisconsin has now climbed to a daily average of 17%.


Sept. 23, 2020 – For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak entered Wisconsin, the number of infected people sick enough to require hospital care has topped 500, according to a daily dashboard maintained by the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

Of the 509 patients, 140 are in an intensive care unit.

On Wednesday, an additional 1,762 new COVID-19 cases were reported by the state Department of Health Services marking the 20th time the state has seen more than 1,000 new cases in a single day. Wednesday’s is the 200th daily report provided by DHS.

The 1,762 new cases replace Tuesday’s 1,672 as the fourth-highest number of daily new infections. They represent 13% of 13,453 total tests processed and raise the state’s 7-day average positivity rate to 17%.

Eight deaths reported Wednesday bring the state’s death toll to 1,259.

And the weekly DHS local report shows all 72 Wisconsin counties are experiencing a high level of coronavirus activity.


Sept. 22, 2020 – The daily dashboard maintained by the Wisconsin Hospital Association (top graphic) shows more COVID-19 patients are requiring hospital care than ever, exceeding the high levels seen in the early weeks of the outbreak in early April.

The 474 current in-patients tops the previous daily high of 446 on April 9.

Tuesday’s coronavirus infection report from the state Department of Health Services shows another 1,672 positive cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, the fourth-highest number of daily new infections.

The 1,672 new cases represent 13% of 12,537 total tests processed. For the past seven-day period, the state’s average daily positivity rate has risen to 16.7%, the highest rate yet recorded. There have been nearly 13,000 new cases in the past seven days.

Seven additional deaths raise the Wisconsin death toll from the outbreak to 1,251.


Sept. 21, 2020 – The state Department of Health Services reports 1,271 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the 11th highest daily number of the outbreak. The state set its highest daily figure of new cases last Friday at 2,533. There were an additional 2,283 reported on Saturday and 1,665 on Sunday. 

Monday’s 1,271 new cases made up 18.7% of 6,796 total tests processed. Over the past seven days, Wisconsin has recorded 12,542 new COVID-19 cases and the average daily positivity rate has been 16.4%, the highest ratio of positive tests recorded so far.

Three deaths reported Saturday, one on Sunday, and two on Monday brought the Wisconsin coronavirus death toll to 1,244 on the day the United States marks 200,000 victims from the outbreak.


Sept. 18, 2020 – The coronavirus outbreak continues to spread through the Wisconsin population faster than anything seen during the early days of the pandemic when residents sheltered at home as a precaution. Friday’s report from the Department of Health Services set another new record with 2,533 new COVID-19 infections, only 24 hours after the state first surpassed the level of 2,000 new cases in a day. 

There were 13,067 total tests for a sky-high positivity rate of 19.4%. While there were similarly-high rates on Monday and Tuesday, they were based on very low daily test volume (7,735 and 3,920).

Seven more deaths reported Friday bring the Wisconsin death toll from the outbreak to 1,238.

UpNorthNews typically does not report new daily hospitalizations any longer because of a lack of transparency because some hospitals report their numbers to federal and state officials while others report only to a federal tracking system. The numbers reported to the state Friday show at least 47 new hospitalizations, meaning there have been at least 6,569 total hospitalizations required (and likely many more) for the 92,279 total coronavirus infections confirmed in Wisconsin since March.

For the past seven days, Wisconsin has recorded 11,029 new coronavirus cases and 41 deaths. The US death toll has reached 198,000.


Sept. 17, 2020 – Wisconsin shattered its previous single-day record for coronavirus infections as the state Department of Health Services on Thursday reported 2,034 new positive tests. There were 11.445 total tests processed, giving a positivity rate of nearly 18%, well above the already-high seven-day average.

Three new deaths in Wisconsin bring the loss of life from the outbreak to 1,231.


Sept. 16, 2020Wednesday’s report on the COVID-19 outbreak from the Dept. of Health Services shows 1,408 new coronavirus infections, the third-highest daily total yet seen. While many of the new cases are related to the reopening of schools and universities, the weekly summary of coronavirus activity at the local level also shows 71 of the state’s 72 counties are seeing a high level of activity. And 26 of those counties show a growing trajectory of COVID-19 cases.

With nearly 12,200 total tests, the new cases reported Wednesday represent 11.5% of all tests processed. The state’s positivity rate for the past seven days averages 14%, a level never approached prior to Sept. 4.

Eight people in Wisconsin have lost their lives due to the coronavirus since Tuesday’s report. The state’s death toll is 1,228. 

The US death toll has reached 196,000.


Sept. 15, 2020 – It was another near-record day for new coronavirus infections in Wisconsin. Tuesday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services shows 1,348 new cases of COVID-19, the 5th highest number of daily new cases seen in the 192 daily reports since the pandemic reached Wisconsin.

The new cases represent 11% of 12,266 total tests processed. The state hasn’t reported that many tests in a day since Aug. 13.

Ten deaths were reported, raising to 1,220 the number of lives lost due to the coronavirus outbreak.

With Tuesday’s numbers, the state now has seen 8,827 new COVID-19 cases, meaning the seven-day average of new daily cases in Wisconsin is up to 1,261 and the seven-day positivity rate is 14%.

The US death toll has reached 195,000.


Sept. 14, 2020 – One day after Wisconsin set another single-day record for new COVID-19 cases, the state saw a lower number on Monday, but on such a small numbers of tests that the positivity rate is still in nearly uncharted territory.

Monday’s report shows 771 new coronavirus infections, but because there were only 3,920 total tests processed, the positivity rate was again in the 20% range as it was on Sunday when a record 1,582 new cases were announced. 

The state has now seen a new record for the total number of new cases in a week (8,196), meaning Wisconsin currently averages more than 1,000 new infections per day (1,171). The average seven-day positivity rate has now climbed to 15%.

Dane County, home of UW-Madison, accounted for nearly 600 cases since Friday. Eau Claire and La Crosse counties are also seeing unprecedented spikes while Milwaukee County, the once-perennial leader in daily new cases, has seen its number fall below 100 several times over the past week.

No deaths were reported Sunday. The 12 reported last Friday mean the state has consistently averaged six deaths per day over the past 30 days. The US death toll has reached 194,000.


Sept. 11, 2020 – For the third time in a week, Wisconsin has posted a 4-digit number for the amount of new COVID-19 cases in a single day. 

Friday’s report notes 1,369 new positive tests, a nearly 14% positivity rate of just under 10,000 total tests processed. Dane County, site of a major outbreak of coronavirus infections centered on UW-Madison, accounted for 283 cases. In two other college communities, La Crosse County reported 78 new cases and Eau Claire posted 38.

Four deaths bring the state’s COVID-19 toll to 1,197. There were 44 lives lost over the past week. And the US death toll reached 192,000 on Friday.

Sept. 10, 2020 – For the second time in less than a week, Wisconsin has logged approximately 1,500 new COVID-19 cases in a single day. 


Thursday’s report on coronavirus cases showed 1,547 newly-confirmed positive tests, a stunning 17.5% of 8,822 total tests processed. Much of the increase is coming from college campuses that began welcoming back students last week. Dane County accounted for 482 cases, an unheard-of number for the county prior to the Madison campus reopening.

There were 1,498 cases reported on Sept. 4, but much of that was chalked up to a backlog with the state’s reporting system early last week.

A tweet from the Dept. of Health Services encourages people to “look at 7- and 14-day averages. Those smooth out day-to-day fluctuations and more clearly show the trends happening in our state.” But even then, the numbers show 7,025 new cases over the past seven days with a positivity rate of 13.4% versus the previous seven days with 4,718 new cases and a positivity rate of 8.4%.

With 10 additional deaths reported Thursday there have been 47 lives lost in Wisconsin from coronavirus over the past seven days compared with 35 for the seven days prior.

Prior to last week, Wisconsin had seen seven instances of daily new cases above the 1,000 mark, all between July 23 and Aug. 14, and all with positivity rates between 6% and 9%.


Sept. 9, 2020 – After three days without any reported loss of life due to COVID-19, the Dept. of Health Services on Wednesday recorded 15 new deaths in its daily statewide summary. That brings the coronavirus death toll in Wisconsin to 1,183.

The 857 new infections reported Wednesday made up nearly 10% of total tests processed, and at least 55 new hospitalizations were reported.

In the weekly DHS summary on local coronavirus activity, 65 counties still report a high level, six have a medium level, and only Price County reports a low level of virus activity. Sixteen counties—all at a high level of activity currently—have case numbers on a trajectory that is still climbing.


Sept. 8, 2020 – Coronavirus infection figures in the daily reports from the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services have fluctuated over the past 10 days, affected by a computer glitch, testing numbers that have gone down due to supply issues, and a rising positivity rate quite likely due to outbreaks as students head back to schools and universities.

For a more representative illustration of recent trends it would be fair to compare the past seven days and the seven prior to that.

Over the past seven days, there have been 5,893 new cases of COVID-19, compared to 5,092 the week before. The positivity rate has climbed sharply from approximately 8.5% to 11.5%. 

There have been 38 deaths from COVID-19 over the past seven days, versus 36 in the week prior. There were 15 deaths reported on Saturday alone, but none reported on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday.

The US death toll reached 190,000 on Tuesday.


Sept. 4, 2020 – The week ended as it began, with skewed numbers in the daily report from the state Dept. of Health Services due to technical issues.

The state’s reporting database was reportedly down for an unknown period on Sunday which caused two to three days worth of lower numbers. And DHS says the extremely high number for Friday reflects a catch-up.

“The negative and positive case numbers look higher today due to problems with the laboratory test reporting that have now been fixed,” reads a DHS tweet accompanying Friday’s numbers. “Remember to look at 7 day trends to get the full picture of how the state is doing.”

Friday’s 1,498 positive tests is substantially higher than the previous single-day record of 1,165 new positive COVID-19 tests reported on Aug. 8. But some of that is undoubtably a carryover from earlier in the week when Monday showed only 266 new cases and Wednesday’s report was 545.

For the seven-day period including Friday, the daily average was 768 new cases, up from a daily average of 703 new cases during the previous seven-day stretch. While both seven-day periods ended up with slightly fewer than 59,000 total tests processed, the positivity rate of the past seven days (9.1%) was also higher than the previous seven days (8.4%).

Seven new deaths reported Friday bring the state’s death toll from the outbreak to 1,153. There were more than 50 new hospitalizations, raising the state total to almost 6,000.

The US death toll has passed 187,000.


Sept. 3, 2020 – Thursday’s coronavirus report from the state Dept. of Health Services showed 727 new cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin. Those positive tests made up 7.9% of 9,178 total tests processed.

The original DHS dashboard (above), with six metrics that were supposed to be met before restrictions would be limited on businesses and gatherings, regressed on Thursday. There had been three green indicators and three red ones for the past couple of weeks, but there is now a red indicator that shows there is no longer a 14-day downward trend in the daily number of emergency room visits with suspected COVID-19 concerns.

Four additional deaths bring the Wisconsin total to 1,146 lives lost from the coronavirus outbreak. There were at least 30 new hospitalizations since Wednesday’s report.

The US death toll has passed 186,000.


Sept. 2, 2020 – Wednesday’s coronavirus report from the state Dept. of Health Services showed there are 545 newly-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin. Those positive tests accounted for 6.5% of 8,376 total tests processed.

Twelve people in Wisconsin were reported to have died from COVID-19 since Tuesday’s report, raising the state’s death toll from the outbreak to 1,142.

There were at least 38 new hospitalizations reported to DHS.

In the weekly review of coronavirus activity at a more local level, DHS reports 64 counties have a high level of activity while a medium level of activity is being seen in 8 counties. [Ashland, Door, Grant, Lafayette, Lincoln, Pepin, Price, and Rusk]

The US death toll will reach 185,000 on Wednesday.


Sept. 1, 2020 – The coronavirus numbers provided in a daily report from the state Dept. of Health Services may not be back to normal until Wednesday due to a glitch in the state database on Sunday. On Monday, the Department of Health Services only reported 266 cases, and Tuesday’s number shot up to 981.

Looking instead at the last seven days combined, the positivity rate is up to 8.5%.

There were more than 60 new hospitalizations in the past 24 hours.

Eight more deaths were reported, for a total of 1,130 lives lost to the outbreak in Wisconsin. And the US death toll passed 184,000 on Tuesday.


Aug. 31, 2020 – The Monday report from the state Dept. of Health Services showed only 266 new cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, on 3,818 tests, very near the lowest number of daily tests processed. It was the public health department of Madison and Dane County that put out an advisory saying the state database for tracking cases was down on Sunday.

“It’s functional again,” the department said on Twitter, “but today’s dashboard numbers will look artificially low. Expect the numbers to change considerably [Tuesday] to reflect the reports we’re just now receiving.”

Beyond the database issue, total test numbers have been down for the past several days. There were 5,099 tests reported Sunday, and 8,752 on Saturday. Testing volume has only exceeded 10,000 three times in the past 16 days.

No new deaths were reported on Monday. The nine deaths reported between Saturday and Sunday bring the state’s coronavirus death toll to 1,122.

The US death toll reached 183,000 on Monday as total coronavirus infections nationwide surpassed 6 million. 

As a result of the problems with Monday’s DHS numbers, the county-by-county figures on cases and deaths will next be updated on Tuesday.


Aug. 28, 2020 – Friday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services showed 843 new cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, putting August 28 on the list of 25 days with the highest number of new coronavirus infections. The 843 made up 9.2% of 9,156 total tests.

There were at least 52 new hospitalizations and two deaths. The Wisconsin death toll from the outbreak is 1,113.

The U.S. death toll reached 181,000 Friday.

Aug. 27, 2020 – Thursday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services showed 878 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the 20th highest daily number of new cases of the 173 days of reports in Wisconsin since the outbreak began.


The 878 positive tests made up 8.1% of 10,791 total tests processed. 

DHS reported 11 deaths, bringing Wisconsin’s epidemic toll to 1,100.

There were at least 33 new hospitalizations.

The coronavirus outbreak has now killed more than 180,000 people in the United States.


Aug. 26, 2020 – Wednesday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services showed 768 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, making up 7.4% of 10,378 total tests processed. 

Six additional deaths brought Wisconsin’s coronavirus death toll to 1,100.

There were at least 41 new hospitalizations.

In the weekly DHS report on county-level coronavirus activity, 65 of the state’s 72 counties are seeing a high level of activity. Only seven are seeing a medium activity level, and no counties are at a low level.

The U.S. death toll passed 179,000 on Wednesday.


Aug. 25, 2020 – Tuesday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services showed new confirmed cases of COVID-19 totaling 638, which is near the approximate average daily number of new cases over the past 10-day period.

The new cases made up 6.4% of just under 10,000 total tests processed.

There were 13 additional deaths attributed to the coronavirus outbreak in Wisconsin, including the first recorded in Portage County. The state’s death toll is now 1,094. The U.S. death toll will reach 178,000 late Tuesday.

There were at least 37 new hospitalizations for coronavirus infections. 

There has been very little recent change in the state’s dashboard of the six metrics that measure the severity of the outbreak. (Pictured above.)

1. Daily number of Emergency Room visits with flu-like illnesses. To turn green, this statistic would need to have a downward trajectory for 14 days. The daily number has recently been flat to slightly lower.

2. Daily number of Emergency Room visits with suspected COVID-19 concerns. This indicator is green because there has been a downward trajectory over the past 14 days.

3. Positivity rate. The amount of positive COVID-19 tests as a percentage of all daily tests processed. To turn green, this statistic would need to have a downward trajectory for 14 days. The daily number has recently been on a slightly upward trajectory.

4. and 5. Hospitals readiness. These indicators are consistently green because more than 95 percent of hospitals can treat all patients without crisis standards of care, and they are able to quickly test any staff who show possible COVID-19 symptoms.

6. COVID-19 cases among health care workers. To turn green, this statistic would need to have a downward trajectory for 14 days. While still red, preliminary data indicates a sharp downward trajectory in recent days.


Aug. 24, 2020 – Monday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services not only shows total daily testing below 10,000 for eight of the past nine days, it also shows a second consecutive day where fewer than 5,000 tests were processed.

There were 392 new cases of COVID-19 reported Monday, making up 8% of 4,865 total tests.

On Sunday, there were 453 new positive tests out of 4,814 total tests, a positivity rate of more than 9%. There have not been back-to-back days of fewer than 5,000 tests recorded since May 18-19. And there haven’t been back-to-back days of fewer than 500 new COVID-19 cases since June 22-23.

Across the state, officials have noted a downturn in available testing supplies, making it difficult to thoroughly trace any new local outbreaks. The lack of a coordinated national supply strategy has left states and other entities to compete with each other for needed material.

For Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, there were 1,795 new coronavirus cases and 13 deaths. The loss of life from the outbreak in Wisconsin is now 1,081.

The U.S. death toll reached 177,000 on Monday.


Aug. 21, 2020 – Friday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services included 826 new positive cases of COVID-19 tests based on just a little over 10,000 tests, for a positivity rate of 7.8% which is also the approximate average rate for the past week.

One death was recorded, bringing the state’s coronavirus death toll to 1,068.

For the past seven days, Wisconsin has seen 4,832 new COVID-19 cases, at least 270 hospitalizations and 43 lives lost to the virus.

The U.S. death toll is approaching 175,000.


Aug. 20, 2020 – Thursday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services marked five days in a row where the state’s public and private laboratories processed fewer than 10,000 COVID-19 tests.

There were 740 new positive cases in Wisconsin in the report. The rate of positive tests has stayed in the 7-7.5% range over the past several days.

Seven additional deaths brought the state’s coronavirus death toll to 1,067.

There were at least 39 more hospitalizations since Wednesday’s report, with at least 367 current COVID-19 in-patients (120 in intensive care) and another 172 hospital patients awaiting test results.

The U.S. death toll will reach 174,000 on Thursday.


Aug. 19, 2020 – For a fourth consecutive day, Wisconsin labs processed fewer than 10,000 COVID-19 tests, with all three days seeing fewer than 700 newly confirmed coronavirus infections.

Stephanie Smiley, interim administrator of DHS’s division of public health, said Wisconsin is again experiencing a shortage of testing supplies, as are other states.

Wednesday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services recorded 663 new cases, making up 7% of 9,429 total tests.

There were at least 50 new hospitalizations with at least 388 current patients, 121 in intensive care. The number of total Wisconsin patients on ventilators is 373 compared to 354 in Tuesday’s report.

There were eight more deaths due to COVID-19, raising the state’s death toll from the outbreak to 1,060. The U.S. death toll reached 172,000 on Tuesday.

In the weekly report of COVID-19 activity at the county level, 65 counties are seeing a high amount of activity, seven counties (in lighter blue) are seeing a medium amount, and no county in Wisconsin is experiencing a low level of COVID-19 activity.


Aug. 18, 2020 – For a third consecutive day Wisconsin labs processed fewer than 10,000 COVID-19 tests, with all three days seeing fewer than 700 newly confirmed coronavirus infections.

Tuesday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services recorded 634 new cases, making up 6.3% of 9,991 total tests.

There were at least 53 new hospitalizations with at least 369 current patients, 109 in intensive care. The number of total Wisconsin patients on ventilators, 354, matches the highest number in a month.

There were 13 more deaths due to COVID-19, raising the state’s death toll from the outbreak to 1,052. The U.S. death toll reached 171,000 on Tuesday.


Aug. 17, 2020 – As is the usual trend, Monday’s coronavirus figures from the state Dept. of Health Services were lower than other days of the week. The 455 positive COVID-19 tests made up 7.6% of only 5,962 total tests processed.

There were no deaths reported Monday after 13 were reported on Saturday and one on Sunday. The state’s death toll stands at 1,039.

There were 23 new hospitalizations reported Monday.

The U.S. death toll from the pandemic reached 170,000 Monday morning.


Aug. 14, 2020 – For the 7th time in the COVID-19 outbreak, more than 1,000 Wisconsinites learned in a single day that they’re infected with the coronavirus. Friday’s 1,021 figure represents the sixth-highest number of new daily cases, as reported by the state Dept. of Health Services.

Those 1,021 positive tests made up 9.8% of 10,439 total tests processed, the highest positivity rate since July 20 and the highest positivity rate for any day in which at least 10,000 tests were analyzed.

There were at least 65 new instances where someone’s COVID-19 symptoms were so severe they required hospitalization.

Seven deaths bring the Wisconsin death toll to 1,025.

For the past seven days, there were 5,459 new coronavirus infections confirmed, at least 305 hospitalizations, and 35 deaths.


Aug. 13, 2020 – After four days of comparatively lower levels of new COVID-19 cases, Thursday’s report of 943 marks the 12th highest number of new positive tests.

They made up 7.6% of 12,415 total tests processed and reported to the Dept. of Health Services.

There were at least 45 new hospitalizations. (We will regularly use “at least” to describe the DHS figure because of discrepancies with how hospitals choose to report their figures to the state.)

Seven people lost their lives to the coronavirus since Wednesday’s report. The state’s death toll is now 1,018.

The U.S. death toll is approaching 167,000.


Aug. 12, 2020 – The coronavirus statistics released in the Wednesday report from the Dept. of Health Services were markedly lower than the numbers typically seen at midweek, with only 478 new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

“Only” is a relative term since 478 cases in a day would have been significant in March, April, and June before Wisconsin saw several days with 1,000 new cases.

The newly confirmed positive tests made up 4.8 percent of fewer than 10,000 tests processed, the lowest number of Wednesday tests in eight weeks.

Another five lives lost to the outbreak bring the Wisconsin death toll to 1,011. There were 33 new hospitalizations. 

And in the weekly look at coronavirus trends at the county level, DHS is again reporting 66 of 72 counties are at a high level COVID-19, shown in darker blue on the accompanying map. Six counties in particular have a high level of activity and are trending higher: Fond du Lac, Green, Jefferson, Lafayette, Oneida, and Pierce.

The U.S. death toll from the outbreak reached 165,000 on Wednesday.


Aug. 11, 2020 – The coronavirus statistics released in the Tuesday report from the Dept. of Health Services show a moderate growth in cases but an uptick in hospitalizations. It also makes official that the Wisconsin death toll has now exceeded 1,000 victims.

Eight new deaths recorded in the past 24 hours bring the state to 1,006 lives lost in the outbreak. (Reaction from Gov. Tony Evers below.) 

Tuesday’s 724 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases make up 5.3% of 13,599 total tests processed.

The DHS report of 61 new hospitalizations is the highest figure in two weeks, and the 414 total COVID-19 patients is the highest level since May 29, according to Urban Milwaukee. Also, the 119 of those patients being in intensive care is the highest in quite some time.

The coronavirus has now infected more than 20 million people worldwide.


Aug. 10, 2020 – Coming off a weekend that included the state’s highest single-day total of new COVID-19 cases, the usual lower numbers in each week’s Monday report from the Dept. of Health Services shouldn’t be the cause of any undue optimism. The 507 new cases are less than half of the 1,165 reported on Saturday.

The state report shows 998 deaths from the outbreak, though more recent local updates have unofficially pushed Wisconsin’s death toll above 1,000.

For the weekend (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday reports), there were 2,293 new coronavirus infections confirmed, making up a relatively high 8% of all tests processed. There were 101 new hospitalizations, and current DHS figures show 352 current patients, 98 in intensive care.

The U.S. death toll reached 163,000 on Monday.


Aug. 7, 2020 – Wisconsin saw nearly 1,000 more newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Friday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services. The 989 positive tests made up 7.0 percent of the 14,086 total tests processed. It is the sixth-highest number of new daily cases since the outbreak first came to Wisconsin.

Another 12 reported deaths mean the state is now ten short of losing 1,000 lives to the coronavirus pandemic. Pierce County recorded its first and second deaths of the outbreak, and Waushara County also noted its first coronavirus death.

There were 49 new hospitalizations needed due to COVID-19. The DHS report is tracking 296 current patients (101 in intensive care) with 118 more patients awaiting test results.

For the week, there have been 5,828 new COVID-19 cases confirmed, making up 5.9 percent of all tests processed over the past seven days.

The U.S. death toll reached 160,000 on Friday.


Aug. 6, 2020 – The Wisconsin coronavirus infection numbers in Thursday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services were similar to Wednesday’s in almost every category: new cases, total tests, new hospitalizations, and new losses of life.

There were 839 new coronavirus infections confirmed, making up 4.7 percent of 17,706 total tests processed, the second-highest laboratory volume recorded in this outbreak.

Eight people in Wisconsin died from COVID-19, putting the state’s death toll at 978.

There were 55 new hospitalizations reported, with DHS showing 251 COVID-19 patients (104 of them in intensive care) and another 92 patients awaiting coronavirus test results. However, hospital data is still not as reliable as it was before the Trump administration changed reporting requirements to bypass the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. 
As reported by Matt Piper of the USA Today Network-Wisconsin, the new federal process also requires hospitals to answer more than 100 questions each day, compared to 25-30 questions previously. There are also two different data systems hospitals can use, and the Dept. of Health Services does not have access to one of the systems which forces the department to rely on voluntary reporting.


Aug. 5, 2020 – The Wednesday report on the coronavirus pandemic from the state Dept. of Health Services showed Wisconsin recorded nine more deaths since Tuesday’s report, marking 59 lives lost to COVID-19 over the past seven days, the highest seven-day death total since June 5.

DHS reported 884 newly confirmed coronavirus cases, making up 5.2 percent of 17,023 total tests processed.

The 884 new positive tests rank Wednesday as seeing the 13th highest number of new daily cases. The 17,023 tests rank 4th highest in total volume handled by 83 public and private laboratories around the state.

There were 43 new hospitalizations in Wednesday’s report which currently logs 258 total COVID patients (96 in intensive care) and 116 other patients awaiting test results.

Among the nine deaths is the first to occur in Ashland County because of the outbreak.

In the weekly report on county-level coronavirus activity, 66 counties are at a high level, only six are ranked medium, and not a single Wisconsin county is seeing a low level of activity.

The U.S. death toll reached 157,000 on Wednesday.


Aug. 4, 2020 – Wisconsin’s public and private laboratories processed more COVID-19 tests than ever before, according to Tuesday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services. The 18,138 tests that were run yielded 728 newly confirmed coronavirus infections. (A positivity rate of 4.0 percent, the second-lowest reading in more than two months.)

The new cases raise Wisconsin’s total number of COVID-19 infections to 56,056.

Twelve more people lost their lives to the coronavirus outbreak, raising Wisconsin’s death toll to 961. There were 51 new hospitalizations reported.

The U.S. death toll reached 156,000 on Tuesday.


Aug. 3, 2020 – Monday coronavirus statistics from the state Dept. of Health Services once again are an outlier compared to sharply higher numbers for the other days of the preceding week. 

The 404 new cases represent the lowest number since June 29, which was also a Monday. The numbers of new cases on Sunday (922) and Saturday (1,062) were more representative of recent trends. Saturday’s figure was the second-highest daily number of new COVID-19 confirmations.

Monday’s 404 positive tests made up 5.6 percent of only 7,173 total tests processed, and they brought the total number of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin past 55,000.

For Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the state recorded 2,816 new cases of COVID-19, 127 people needed hospital care, and 29 people died. The Wisconsin death toll from the outbreak is 949 after one more death in the past 24 hours.


July 31, 2020 – Another 15 lives were lost in Wisconsin to the coronavirus outbreak, the highest number of deaths reported since June 9, according to Friday statistics released by the state Dept. of Health Services. The state’s death toll has climbed to 934.

DHS reported 832 new coronavirus cases on Friday which would rank 14th on the total list of new daily infections. Those positive tests made up 5.4 percent of 15,379 total tests processed, the 4th highest daily volume reported by labs around the state.

There were 47 new hospitalizations, and there are at least 255 current hospital patients who are COVID-19 positive (108 in intensive care) with another 132 patients awaiting test results.

For the week, there were 56 deaths in Wisconsin, the most in a 7-day period since the second week of June. There were 6,023 new COVID-19 cases confirmed over the past week.

For the month of July, there were 150 lives lost in the state to COVID-19.

The U.S. coronavirus death toll is about to reach 153,000, and the number of coronavirus infections passed 4.5 million on Friday.


July 30, 2020 – Wisconsin recorded its second-highest daily total of new COVID-19 cases on Thursday as Gov. Evers ordered a statewide indoor mask requirement to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

The state Dept. of Health Services reported 1,059 new coronavirus infections, making up 6.1 percent of 17,270 tests processed. That is the second-highest number of tests recorded in a day. With one exception, it has now been more than five weeks since the state positivity rate was consistently below 4 percent.

There were eight new deaths reported. The state has now seen 919 lives lost to the outbreak.

DHS reported 51 new hospitalizations. Secretary-designee Andrea Palm said Thursday it will be a few days before hospital patient figures are consistent as different places adjust to a Trump administration order changing how coronavirus data is reported, bypassing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The current data shows there are 295 current hospital patients with COVID-19 (101 in intensive care), and 122 more patients awaiting test results. 

The U.S. coronavirus death toll on Thursday reached 151,000.


July 29, 2020 – Coronavirus activity is rated high in 61 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties as tallied weekly by the state Dept. of Health Services, up from 58 and 59 the previous two weeks. Only nine counties have a medium level of activity currently and only two have low activity.

Another 870 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Wednesday, off last week’s four-digit figures but still a significantly higher number of new daily cases than what was tallied in June. A total of 51,049 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state, and there were 46 new hospitalizations since Tuesday’s report.

Six more deaths bring the Wisconsin toll from the coronavirus pandemic to 911 as the nation’s death toll reached 150,000.


July 28, 2020 – For the third time in eight days Wisconsin 13 deaths in a single day due to the coronavirus outbreak. It raised the death toll to 906 on the same day the state reached 50,000 COVID-19 infections.

Tuesday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services shows 762 newly confirmed coronavirus infections, making up 5.3 percent of 14,424 total tests processed. It’s the first time in a little more than a week Wisconsin has put together back-to-back days of not reporting new COVID-19 cases in the vicinity of 1,000 per day although 762 new daily cases would have been a record or near-record number prior to July 4 when the state started seeing a new surge in infections.

Tuesday’s report marks only the tenth time the state has processed at least 14,000 COVID-19 cases in a day, and the 5.3 positivity rate is at the lower end of those days.

There were 73 new hospitalizations reported in the state.

The U.S. death toll reached 148,000 on Tuesday.


July 27, 2020 – Monday’s coronavirus figures from the state Dept. of Health Services continue a trend of low figures across the board coming out of a Sunday. There were 590 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on only 6,946 tests, numbers that haven’t been that low since Monday, July 13. The 590 positive tests were 8.5 percent of the 6,946 total tests.

There were 26 new hospitalizations reported and only one new death, bringing the state’s toll to 893.

The global death toll reached 650,000 on Monday.


July 24, 2020 – For only the third time –but the third time in the past four days– Wisconsin put a 4-digit figure in the column recording newly confirmed coronavirus infections. Friday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services shows 1,018 positive tests, or 5.8 percent of a record 17,456 tests processed. In just the past seven days Wisconsin has recorded 6,410 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total outbreak to 46,917 infections.

There were 54 new hospitalizations. There continue to be issues with reporting hospital data due to a change mandated by the Trump administration, but Friday’s DHS figures show 312 current COVID-19 patients (60 in intensive care) and another 177 patients awaiting test results.

Wisconsin regressed once again on the DHS dashboard measuring six criteria related to the outbreak. Only two of the six metrics are being met and given a green light; the other four are red.

There were no deaths since the 13 in Thursday’s report, leaving the death toll at 878. There have been 45 deaths in Wisconsin due to the coronavirus since last week.

The U.S. death toll on Friday now numbers 145,000 lives lost in the outbreak.


July 23, 2020 – For the second time, Wisconsin has recorded more than 1,000 new coronavirus infections in a single day. The Thursday report from the Dept. of Health Services shows 1,052 new positive tests for COVID-19, making up 7 percent of 15,264 total tests processed. 

Thursday’s report marks only the second time more than 15,000 tests have been analyzed in a day, but the positivity rate –no matter how many or how few tests– has not been consistently under 4 percent in more than a month.

There were 48 more hospitalizations reported and 13 lives lost to COVID-19 since Wednesday, raising the state’s death toll to 878. Over the past week, 47 people have died from the outbreak, a total not seen since the seven-day period ending June 25.

Nationally, the number of confirmed coronavirus infections which, on February 26 was 15 Americans, surpassed 4,000,000 on Thursday and the death toll will reach 144,000.


July 22, 2020 – Prior to the 4th of July, a day with 712 new cases of COVID-19 would appear shockingly high for Wisconsin. On Wednesday that figure almost paled in comparison to higher numbers seen around a dozen times since the holiday weekend.

The new report from the state Department of Health Services also had a sharply lower positivity number compared to the past two weeks. The 712 new positive tests were 4.8 percent of 14,780 total tests processed, the second-highest number of daily tests to-date.

There were 31 new COVID-19 admissions reported. But according to a report from Urban Milwaukee, a data collection issue is delaying updated information about the current total number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. (An earlier version of this article used numbers that turned out to be incomplete.)

Six new deaths bring the Wisconsin toll to 865.

All told, 44,847 Wisconsinites have tested positive for the coronavirus. Wednesday ended a 12-day string of new record highs for the 7-day moving average of daily new cases.

At the county level, DHS reports 58 counties have a high level of COVID-19 activity this week, compared to 59 last week. Only one location, Burnett County, has a low level of activity. The other 13 counties have a medium level of coronavirus activity.


July 21, 2020 – Wisconsin has proven to be a bit of an overachiever when it comes to its first instance of recording more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day. The 1,117 reported on Tuesday by the state Department of Health Services shattered the old record of 978 set only three days ago.

Those new COVID-19 cases made up 7.7 percent of 14,488 total tests processed, and it pushes to 44,135 the state’s total number of confirmed infections. An additional 13 deaths bring the state’s toll to 859.

There were 65 new instances of coronavirus patients requiring admission to a hospital, a number not seen since April 7 in the early weeks of the pandemic. (The current total number of COVID-19 hospital patients was lower, reflecting a large number of hospital discharges since Monday’s report.)

There are 354 current COVID-19 patients in the hospital (101 of them in intensive care) and another 190 hospital patients are awaiting their coronavirus test results.

The U.S. death toll from the outbreak has reached 141,000.


July 20, 2020 – For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak reached Wisconsin, the state has record more than 6,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single week as the total number of infections reached 43,000.

On Saturday the state Dept. of Health Services reported a new single-day record of 978 cases. Another 830 were reported Sunday, and on Monday the 703 new cases ranks 13th among the 135 daily reports since Wisconsin’s first case was confirmed.

Thirteen deaths over the weekend bring Wisconsin’s toll to 846.

In one positive development the state’s dashboard of six metrics that indicate progress against coronavirus went back up to three green indicators and three red. The state over the past 14 days is seeing a downward trend in COVID-like syndromic cases.

That means that while the number of positive COVID tests is high, many of the newly confirmed infected Wisconsinites don’t require hospital care. However it also prompts renewed caution that someone who tests positive for coronavirus should still self-isolate even without symptoms in order to avoid infecting others who may be at much greater risk of illness or death.


July 17, 2020 – More than 40,000 people in Wisconsin have now been infected with the coronavirus based on Friday’s report from the state Dept of Health Services. 

Another 880 new infections were confirmed Friday, bringing the state total to 40,507. The new infections made up 6.6 percent of 13,407 total tests processed. Since last week 5,754 new COVID-19 infections have been confirmed.

Two additional deaths were reported Friday, 19 over the past week, giving Wisconsin a death toll of 833 from the outbreak.

There were 63 new hospitalizations reported by DHS. There are currently 333 hospital patients (97 in intensive care) confirmed with COVID-19 and 170 more patients awaiting test results.

The U.S. death toll will cross 139,000 Friday evening. The nation saw more than 70,000 new daily cases for the first time on Thursday.


July 16, 2020 – Wisconsin no longer has a curve to bend; it’s more a question of whether it’s an on-ramp to another lockdown as the state has reported its seven highest daily totals of new COVID-19 cases over the past eight days.

The Thursday report from the Dept. of Health Services contains the third-highest number of the outbreak: 900 new cases, 6.3 percent of 14,271 total tests processed. This brings the seven-day total to a new high of 5,719 and the rolling average of daily new cases above 800 as the state approaches 40,000 people infected with the coronavirus (39,627).

Said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, the state’s chief medical officer for infectious disease, “The news is bad and potentially getting worse.”

There were 45 new hospitalizations since Wednesday’s report; total hospital patients are back above 300. Four new deaths bring the state’s toll to 831.


July 15, 2020 – Wednesday’s 821 new cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin would have been the highest daily total reported during the coronavirus outbreak had it occurred before last Friday. It’s still the 4th highest daily total as the pandemic continues to infect Wisconsinites, as reported by the state Dept of Health Services.

Community spread has become so significant in Wisconsin that 60 of the state’s 72 counties are now designated as seeing a “high level” of coronavirus activity. That compares to 60 last week, 48 the week prior, and 36 and 22 in the weeks before that.

One new death was reported, raising the state toll to 827. There were 31 new hospitalizations from people sickened by COVID-19. There are 295 people hospitalized with the illness, 88 in intensive care; another 177 hospital patients may have COVID-19 but are awaiting confirmation.

The 821 new cases represent 5.9 percent of 13,925 total tests processed. Over the past seven days Wisconsin has seen 5,573 new coronavirus infections, for a rolling 7-day average of almost 800 new cases per day.

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has reached 137,000.


July 14, 2020 – Saying Wisconsin is seeing “significant community spread,” the head of Wisconsin’s Dept. of Health Services announced Tuesday the state had set another daily record for the number of new COVID-19 cases, the 4th new record in six days.

There are 964 new coronavirus cases as reported by Secretary-designee Andrea Palm in Tuesday’s briefing. They represent 6.6 percent of 14,680 tests processed.

Over the past seven days Wisconsin has seen 5,350 new cases of COVID-19, amounting to about 7 percent of all tests processed.

Six more deaths bring the state to 826 lives lost from the coronavirus outbreak.

There are 42 new hospitalizations reported. There are 293 COVID-19 patients in Wisconsin hospitals, 83 in intensive care; another 147 patients are awaiting test results.


July 13, 2020 – Wisconsin COVID-19 testing stayed true to form and slowed significantly on Sunday, but the 494 cases reported Monday by the Dept. of Health Services still amounted to 7.5 percent of total tests (6,621).

The reports for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday amounted to the four highest single-day reports for new coronavirus cases in Wisconsin. 

There were no new deaths reported Sunday or Monday, leaving the coronavirus death toll in Wisconsin at 820. 

There were another 26 hospitalizations reported Monday. There are 283 current hospital patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19, 85 of them in intensive care. Another 143 patients are awaiting COVID-19 test results. For the entire outbreak, 3,850 of the state’s 36,942 coronavirus cases have required hospital care.


July 12, 2020 – The Dept. of Health Services reported 769 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday. They represent the third-highest daily figure reported in Wisconsin during the coronavirus outbreak, topped only by the reports on Friday and Saturday.

Sunday’s 769 new positive tests made up 10.1 percent of 7,617 total tests processed.

There were 27 new hospitalizations reported.

A death attributed to Iron County on Saturday was erroneous, bringing Wisconsin’s death toll down to 820.

The U.S. death toll reached 135,000.


July 11, 2020 – The coronavirus continues to surge across Wisconsin as the state records its largest one-day increase in COVID-19 cases for a third straight time on Saturday, according to daily numbers provided by the state Department of Health Services

The 926 new cases reported Saturday smashes Friday’s record of 845 cases which had roared past Thursday’s record-high 754.Those high numbers continue a trend for the past three weeks of a surge in cases across the state, furthering concerns among public health officials and others. 

The state has recorded 4,624 cases in the past seven days, another new seven-day cumulative record, DHS numbers show. 

Equally concerning, Saturday’s 926 new cases represent 7.7 percent of 12,019 total tests processed, marking the highest positivity rate whenever more than 10,000 daily tests have been run. 

Saturday’s DHS report showed 31 new hospitalizations. They are among 265 current hospital patients (75 in intensive care) who have confirmed COVID-19 cases. Another 155 people are in the hospital for treatment of similar symptoms but their coronavirus test results are pending.

Five people died from COVID-19 since Friday’s report, bringing the state’s death toll to 821.

For the full story on reaction to recent COVID-19 numbers, click HERE.


July 10, 2020 – On Friday, Wisconsin smashed the previous day’s new record for highest number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases despite fewer tests processed than in Thursday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services. 

There were 845 new coronavirus cases reported compared to 754 on Thursday.

The 845 positive tests made up 6.7 percent of 12,702 total tests processed. The positivity rate continues to stay well above 4 percent as it has for 16 of the past 17 days.

Five people have died from coronavirus in Wisconsin since Thursday’s report bringing the state’s death toll to 814.

There were another 40 hospitalizations reported Friday. There are 274 current hospital patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19, 77 of them in intensive care. Another 151 patients are awaiting COVID-19 test results. For the entire outbreak, 3,766 of the state’s 34.753 coronavirus cases have required hospital care.

The U.S. death toll is approaching 134,000 after Thursday saw a record 59,880 new coronavirus cases reported nationwide, another single-day record.


July 9, 2020 – The coronavirus outbreak reached a record number of Wisconsinites in a single day after the Dept. of Health Services reported Thursday 754 new cases of COVID-19, bringing to 33,908 the total number of confirmed infections since the pandemic first reached the Badger State. Two more victims bring the state’s death toll to 809.

There were 43 more hospitalizations reported, meaning 3,726 of those nearly 34,000 people infected were sick enough to require hospital care. There are 285 COVID-19 patients in hospitals currently, 76 of them in intensive care. Another 168 patients are getting similar care but have not yet had a COVID-19 test confirmed or dismissed.

The 754 new positive tests made up 5.7 percent of 13,158 total tests processed. After nearly three weeks in June of positivity rates below 4 percent, the rate has exceeded 4 percent for 15 of the past 16 days.

The U.S. death toll will reach 133,000 on Thursday after the country also set a new single-day record for new coronavirus infections.


July 8, 2020 – Wisconsin has gone from 22 to 36 to now 48 counties facing a high level of COVID-19 activity in the first three weekly county-level reports assembled by the Dept. of Health Services. Based on the case rate and the case change, DHS labels each county as having low, medium or high activity levels of disease spread. 

Chippewa County, for example, now has a high-level designation after seeing 41 percent of its total cases coming in just the past two weeks, primarily in people younger than 40.

Statewide, the Wednesday DHS report shows 598 new cases, making up 5.6 percent of 10,736 total tests processed. They bring the state’s outbreak total to 33,154 total confirmed infections. The death toll is now 807; Langlade County reported its first fatality from coronavirus.

There are 44 new hospitalizations, 276 current patients (74 in intensive care) and 152 more patients awaiting COVID-19 test results.

The U.S. has now topped three million people infected with the virus and 132,000 have died.


July 7, 2020 – With daily testing for COVID-19 across Wisconsin back above the 10,000 mark, the positivity rate tumbled back to levels seen prior to the holiday weekend, according to Tuesday’s figures from the Dept. of Health Services. Nine new deaths brought the toll above 800 in Wisconsin.

There are 495 newly confirmed coronavirus infections. They made up 3.9 percent of 12,594 total tests processed. 

The total number of COVID-19 infections in Wisconsin since the start of the outbreak is now 32,556. There have been nearly 17,000 new cases confirmed since Memorial Day. Back then, the state had reported fewer than 16,000 cases, a doubling of infections in six weeks. And DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm said nearly a quarter of the cases since Memorial Day have come from people in their 20s.

Of the 32,556 cases, 3,639 have required hospital care. There were 37 new hospitalizations since Monday’s report. There are 254 current COVID-19 patients, 69 of them in intensive care. Another 169 hospital patients are awaiting test results

The nine additional deaths bring the state’s total to 805. Seven were in Milwaukee County. Rusk County reported its first death from the outbreak, and Polk County recorded its second.


July 6, 2020 – During the holiday weekend, the state set another single-day record for new cases. All told, there were 1,744 new COVID-19 cases reported since Friday by the state Dept. of Health Services. There were 4,003 new cases confirmed over the past seven days.

During the three-day weekend, the positivity rate hovered around 10 percent of all daily tests processed. On Monday, 484 newly confirmed cases made up 9.2 percent of 5,286 total tests.

Wisconsin has now seen 32,061 confirmed COVID-19 cases during the outbreak. No new deaths were reported Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Of the 254 patients currently hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, 66 are in intensive care.

The U.S.death toll passed 132,000 on Monday.


July 3, 2020 – The COVID-19 surge in Wisconsin continues to be seen in Friday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services as 579 new cases bring the total number of coronavirus infections in Wisconsin above 30,000,

Wisconsin has seen 3,570 new cases over the past 7 days for a rolling 7-day average of new daily cases of 510, both record highs.

The 579 new cases make up 5.7 percent of 10,186 total tests processed; that represents a 10th straight day with a positivity rate of 4 percent or higher.

Three additional deaths bring the state’s total number of coronavirus casualties to 796.

Of the total 30,317 confirmed coronavirus cases in Wisconsin during the outbreak 3,555 have required hospitalization, reflecting 36 new admissions since Thursday. There are 244 current COVID-19 hospital patients, 75 in intensive care.


July 2, 2020 – Thursday’s 539 new COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin give the state 3,511 for the past 7 days, the largest 7-day running total yet. There was a lengthy decline from a 7-day total of 3,353 on May 29 down to 1,861 on June 17 before this new surge began.

The 539 newly confirmed coronavirus cases made up 4.2 percent of 12,878 total tests processed, marking a 9th straight day with a positivity rate of 4 percent or higher.

Wisconsin has now had 29,738 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Of those, 3,519 have required hospital care at some point, including 37 new hospitalizations in Thursday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services. There are currently 236 COVID-19 patients in hospital (74 of those in intensive care) and 143 other hospital patients awaiting test results.

Seven deaths reported Thursday bring the state’s toll to 793.

Wednesday marked the first time the U.S. experienced 50,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day.


July 1, 2020 – Wednesday’s report from state health officials marks only the 11th time Wisconsin has seen 500 or more new COVID-19 cases in a single day. There were no such 500-case days from May 31 to June 25, but now four of the past six days have hit that mark. And Wednesday marks the 8th straight day where the positivity rate for COVID-19 was 4 percent or more of all tests processed that day.

Wednesday’s 540 new cases made up 4.3 percent of 12,608 total tests, and they raise the total number of infections during the outbreak to 29,199. There were 36 new hospitalizations and two more deaths.

DHS says COVID-19 activity is high in 36 counties, half of the state’s 72 counties. Last week, only 22 counties were reported to have high activity levels of COVID-19 cases and trajectory.


June 30, 2020 – Wisconsin health officials recorded the second-highest daily total of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases with 601 positive tests reported in Tuesday’s update from the Dept. of Health Services. The 601 new cases amounted to 4.7 percent of 12,781 tests processed. Only on May 29, with 733 cases, was there a higher daily total of new infections from the coronavirus outbreak.

The state has now seen 7 straight days where 4 percent or more of all daily tests came back positive.

The outbreak has now infected 28,659 people in the state, putting 3,446 in the hospital at some point. There are 242 current patients with confirmed COVID-19 cases, 39 new hospitalizations than Monday’s report.

There were seven new deaths reported Tuesday, including a first for Barron County, bringing the state’s death toll to 784.

For the month of June in Wisconsin there were 10,256 new cases of coronavirus infections and 192 deaths.


June 29, 2020 – There was a significant dip in COVID-19 cases in Monday’s report from the state Department of Health Services. Of 5,927 total tests processed, there were 315 new cases or 5.3 percent of total tests.

The decrease comes three days after a five-day spike that saw a peak of 539 new cases on Friday, only the eighth time the state recorded more than 500 cases in a single day.

Total confirmed cases topped 28,000 on Monday, standing at 28,058.There were no new deaths reported Monday, leaving the state’s toll at 777. There were 14 new hospitalizations and there are now 237 patients being treated for COVID-19.


June 26, 2020 – There was a significant uptick in COVID-19 cases in Friday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services. Of 9,127 total tests processed, there were 520 new cases or 5.7 percent of total tests. That is the state’s 5th highest single day amount of new cases, the highest daily number since May 30, and only the 8th time the state has recorded 500 or more cases in a day. The 5.7 percent is the highest ratio of new tests coming back positive since May 27. 

There were no new deaths reported Friday, leaving the state’s toll at 766. There were 25 new hospitalizations and there are now 262 patients being treated for COVID-19 and 142 more patients awaiting test results.


June 25, 2020 – Another 464 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed Thursday by the Dept. of Health Services, bringing Wisconsin’s total to 26,227. An additional 9 deaths brings the state’s toll to 766. 

The 464 cases represent 4.1 percent of 11,222 tests processed. Three of the past 5 days have seen the positive case rate at 4 percent or higher.

Another 27 people were hospitalized. There are 249 patients in hospital (93 in intensive care) plus 134 more patients who are awaiting results of their COVID-19 test.

The U.S. death toll from the outbreak soared past 125,000 Thursday.


June 24, 2020 – For only the fourth time in the past three weeks, the percentage of new positive COVID-19 cases reached four percent or more of total daily tests processed, according to Wednesday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services. 

On Tuesday, speaking to a webinar, the chief executive officer of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Dr. John Raymond, said there are “preliminary signs” Wisconsin is heading in the wrong direction on containing the coronavirus outbreak, according to a story reported by Wisconsin Health News.

The DHS dashboard of six metric that indicate progress or backsliding on containing the outbreak has regressed to four red indicators and two that are green.

Wednesday’s 432 new cases made up 4.3 percent of 10,070 total tests processed, and the new cases bring the total number of infections to 25,763.

Seven new deaths brings the state toll to 757.

There are 239 current hospital patients with COVID-19 (89 of them in intensive care) and 160 other hospital patients with symptoms but who are still awaiting COVID-19 test results.

In its weekly upstate on investigations of COVID-19 outbreaks at facilities, DHS reports 629 active investigations, 284 of those at workplaces not health care related.

The U.S. death toll is approaching 122,000.


June 23, 2020 – Testing was up sharply and the percentage of those tests coming back positive for COVID-19 was lower in Tuesday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services.

There are 263 newly confirmed cases, 2.2 percent of 11,794 tests processed. That raises to 25,331 the total number of Wisconsin cases during the outbreak. Of those, 3,268 have required hospital care, including 37 more new hospitalizations since Monday. Currently, there are 240 hospital patients with COVID-19, 93 of them in intensive care; and there are another 142 hospital patients awaiting COVID-19 test results. 

Five newly reported deaths brings the Wisconsin toll to 750. 

DHS also unveiled a redesigned portion of its website on Tuesday to better illustrate the county-by-county extent of coronavirus containment or spread on a weekly basis. The counties and regions are color-coded to indicate overall COVID-19 activity status: low, medium, or high.  DHS said in a release the local data will be refreshed each Wednesday by 2 p.m.


June 22, 2020 – It’s not nearly as pronounced as case surges in several other states, but an uptick in Wisconsin is causing concern as the state loses its downward trend in COVID-19 case growth. According to Monday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services, there were 249 new COVID-19 cases. There were 280 new cases reported Sunday and 385 new cases reported Saturday.

Monday’s 249 new cases represented 3.8 percent of 6,549 total tests processed. (The percentages were 4.6 on Sunday and 3.8 on Saturday.) The 249 cases brings Wisconsin over the 25,000 mark for total COVID-19 cases.

Of those 25,068 cases, 3,231 have required hospital care at some point with 246 current patients (93 in intensive care) with confirmed COVID-19 cases. Another 169 people needing hospital care have not yet had their COVID-19 tests confirmed.

While only one new death was reported Monday –the first for Eau Claire County– and none reported Sunday, there were 14 deaths reported Saturday and 11 on Friday. There have been approximately 50 deaths in each of the past three weeks. The state’s death toll from the outbreak now stands at 745. 

Coronavirus has now infected more than 9 million people worldwide, and the U.S. death toll on Monday reached 120,000.


June 19, 2020 – After a one-day jump, the percentage of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases returned below three percent of all tests processed in a day, according to Friday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services. 

Of 11,116 tests processed, there were 278 newly discovered cases of a coronavirus infection, or 2.5 percent of the day’s tests. The 278 new cases brings the grand total to 24,154. Of those, 3,177 have been serious enough to require hospital care, reflecting 17 new hospitalizations since Thursday’s report.

Eleven more people in Wisconsin have died of COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll to 730.

The U.S. death toll will reach 119,000 early Friday evening.


June 18, 2020 – For the first time in two weeks, the amount of new COVID-19 tests was at least four percent of all tests processed in a day, according to Thursday’s report from the state Department of Health Services.

The 422 new positive tests made up exactly four percent of the 10,599 tests processed, the highest percentage since June 4. The 422 new cases raise the state’s total COVID-19 cases to 23,876. Of those, 3,160 have needed hospital care, an increase of 32 hospitalizations from Wednesday’s report.

There were seven lives lost since Wednesday, putting the state’s death toll at 719, or 3 percent of the 23,876 total cases. As of Thursday, 5,101 of those cases (21 percent) are active, and the remaining 18,055 (76 percent) have recovered.

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus outbreak reached 118,000 on Thursday.


June 17, 2020 – Encouraging statistics in Wednesday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services show a continued downward trend in the average number of new daily cases, and the amount of recovered cases is now up to 75 percent of all cases.

There were 256 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported, making up 2.6 percent of the 9,662 daily tests processed. The seven-day average of new cases is 270 and has been going lower for nine consecutive days. 

There were 9 lives lost since Tuesday’s report, putting the state’s death toll from the outbreak at 712, or 3 percent of all COVID-19 cases. Another 22 percent (5,129) are active cases, and the other 75 percent (17,613) are listed as recovered.

Of the total 23,454 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin, 3,128 have required hospital care, reflecting 32 new hospitalizations since Tuesday’s report.


The U.S. death toll from the outbreak surpassed 117,000 as states like Arizona, Texas and Florida grapple with significant increases even as reopening measures accelerate.


June 16, 2020 – Wisconsin has now seen 12 days in a row where positive COVID-19 tests made up less than 4 percent of each day’s total tests. Current hospitalizations have fallen again. But the state’s death toll from the outbreak has now reached 700.

Tuesday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services shows 266 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 out of 11,149 total tests, or 2.4 percent. The 266 new cases brings Wisconsin’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 23,198. Of those, 3,096 have needed hospital care at some point, with 275 currently hospitalized and 100 of those in Intensive Care. There are another 192 hospital patients awaiting COVID-19 test results. 

There were 9 additional deaths, bringing the state’s death toll to 703, or 3 percent of the 23,198 total cases. Another 74 percent (17,122) have recovered, and the remaining 13 percent (5,372) are active cases.

The US death toll will reach 117,000 overnight.


June 15, 2020 – A typically low-volume of weekend COVID-19 testing is reflected in Monday’s report on the coronavirus outbreak from the state Dept. of Health Services. 

There were only 6,255 total tests, and 174 (2.8 percent) came back positive. There were two additional deaths, raising the state’s toll to 694 lives lost.

There are currently 284 patients hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 (100 of them being treated in Intensive Care), and 188 other hospital patients awaiting COVID-19 test results.

In Wisconsin, there have been 22,932 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Of those, 5,507 (24 percent) are currently active.

Around the world, nearly 8 million people have been confirmed with coronavirus infections. The U.S. death toll from the outbreak crossed 116,000 on Monday.


June 12, 2020 – Wisconsin has regressed further in its efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak as a dashboard used by the Dept. of Health Services now has only two green indicators and four in the red.

Friday’s DHS report shows 320 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. They make up 2.8 percent of 11,628 total daily tests reported. 

Wisconsin has backtracked on the goal of having a downward trend over a 14-day period for positive tests as a percentage of total tests.

There were 7 deaths reported since Thursday, bringing the state’s death toll from the outbreak to 689. 

There were 27 new hospitalizations, surpassing 3,000 total hospitalizations required among the state’s 22,246 confirmed coronavirus infections.

The U.S. death toll has climbed past 114,000.


June 11, 2020 – The percentage of positive COVID-19 tests creeped up again according to Thursday’s report from the Department of Health Services. Total tests administered slipped back below 10,000. 

There were 11 new deaths reported, bringing the state’s toll from the outbreak to 682.

There were 9,275 total tests reported; 333, or 3.6 percent, came back positive, bringing the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin to 21,926.

There were 33 new hospitalizations for a total of 2,976 throughout the outbreak. There are currently 306 patients (101 of them in an Intensive Care Unit), and 188 more patients awaiting COVID-19 test results.

Coronavirus has now infected more than 2 million Americans and killed 113,000.


June 10, 2020 – COVID-19 confirmations are still occurring in a range of 2 to 3 percent of all daily tests, according to Wednesday’s report from the Department of Health Services. There were 285 newly confirmed cases, 2.8 percent of 10,187 total tests processed. That brings to 21,593 the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin.

Ten new deaths brings to 671 the number of lives lost in Wisconsin to the pandemic. There have been 45 deaths in the state over the past 7 days.

There were 39 new hospitalizations reported, bringing the overall total to 2,943. There are currently 328 hospital patients with confirmed COVID-19 and another 190 patients awaiting test results. Of the 328, 114 are in an intensive care unit.

There was a sizable jump in the number of active outbreak investigations at workplaces, long-term care facilities, group homes and health care providers. There are 547 active investigations, an increase of 89 over last week. The total number of facilities investigations is 651, an increase of 115 over last week.


June 9, 2020 – Tuesday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services showed one of the lowest levels of positive tests as a percentage of total daily COVID-19 tests. However, there was still a setback in the state’s dashboard of tracking coronavirus containment.

There were 270 new cases reported Tuesday, and they represented only 1.9 percent of 14,227 total tests processed, the second highest nunber to-date of daily tests. 

There have been 44 new hospitalizations since Monday, and 15 newly reported deaths, bringing the pandemic’s toll in Wisconsin to 661.

The DHS dashboard of metrics to measure success in containing the outbreak regressed to show three green indicators and three red due to an uptick in COVID-19 like symptoms being reported across the state.

Of the 21,308 confirmed coronavirus cases in Wisconsin, 6,063 (28%) are actively needing treatment while 14,583 (68%) have a recovery status. The 661 deaths are 3 percent of the total cases.

There are currently 331 people hospitalized for COVID-19, and 117 of those are in an intensive care unit. Another 174 people in hospitals are awaiting test results.

The national death toll from the coronavirus outbreak is approaching 112,000 and the number of confirmed cases will soon reach 2 million, as reported by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine dashboard.


June 8, 2020 – Monday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services showed the usual slowdown of testing activity over the weekend though the percentage of daily tests coming back positive continues to be lower than recent averages.

There were 203 new cases reported Monday, or 2.7 percent of 7,590 total tests processed. There have been 69 new hospitalizations since Friday, and 13 people in Wisconsin have died from COVID-19 since Friday.

The DHS dashboard of six metrics to measure success in containing the outbreak continues to show four green and two red.

Of the 21,038 confirmed coronavirus cases in Wisconsin, 6,149 (29%) are actively needing treatment while 14,242 (68%) have a recovery status. The 646 deaths are 3 percent of the total cases.

The global death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has grown past 400,000.


June 5, 2020 – Recent trends held steady in Friday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services on the coronavirus outbreak. The percentage of daily tests coming back positive was 2.9 percent, with 357 new positive cases out of 12,322 tests conducted. The total number of infections topped 20,000. And 7 lives were claimed by COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll to 633.

Another 52 hospitalizations brings the state’s outbreak total to 2,791. Of those, 352 are currently being treated in a hospital, and 124 of those (35 percent) are in the Intensive Care Unit. Another 174 people are also needing hospital care but have not yet received the results of their COVID-19 test.


June 4, 2020 – A slight increase in the percentage of positive tests is a reminder that the coronavirus is still prevalent in Wisconsin and still spreading, according to Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm as she presented Thursday’s updated statistics on the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is still a very dynamic situation,” added Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Chief Medical Officer of the Bureau of Communicable Diseases.

There were 492 new COVID-19 cases in Thursday’s report, bringing the state’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases just short of 20,000.

The 492 positive tests made up 4.1 percent of the 12,148 total tests administered and reported for Thursday’s update. That is a higher percentage than the 4 previous days.

Both Westergaard and Palm said vigilance is still required because while the statewide figure is often below 5 percent recently, there are still local outbreaks where 20 to 30 percent of a tested population turns out to be infected. 

There were 10 new deaths reported which brings Wisconsin’s toll to 626.

There are 39 new hospitalizations. Of the 19,892 total confirmed coronavirus cases, 2,739 (14 percent) have needed hospital care. Currently, 355 patients are hospitalized, 117 of them in an Intensive Care Unit. 

DHS also reports there have been 537 facility-wide investigations, and 458 of those are still active. 

The U.S. death toll from the pandemic will approach or surpass 108,000 by day’s end.


June 3, 2020 – Hundreds more cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Wednesday’s report from the Department of Health Services, but they made up a still-shrinking percentage of total daily tests administered.

There were 483 new confirmed cases in the report, bringing the state’s total number of positive COVID-19 tests to 19,400. The positive tests were 2.9 percent of total tests, the second-lowest percentage in at least the past two weeks. There were 16,451 total tests in Tuesday’s report, well above the previous daily testing high of 13,602 set last Friday.

Dodge County reported 157 of those new cases, thought to be most or all of the remaining tests of inmates at the Waupun Correctional Institution that had yet to be processed. Dodge County has now logged 383 total COVID-19 cases. Convicted murderer Steven Avery is among the inmates who have tested positive, according to his attorney.

There were 57 new reports of people needing hospital care for a coronavirus infection. Nine new deaths were reported, giving Wisconsin 616 fatalities from the outbreak.

The DHS dashboard tracking 6 metrics of progress regressed on Wednesday to 4 of the 6 indicators being green.


June 2, 2020 – Daily COVID-19 testing went back above the 10,000 mark in Tuesday’s report from the Department of Health Services, and of the 7 days with 10,000 or more tests today’s report had the lowest percentage of positive cases of coronavirus.

There were 10,522 tests reported Tuesday with 374 (3.6%) coming back positive. Those 374 bring Wisconsin’s total number of confirmed coronavirus infections to 18,917.

Wisconsin’s death toll rose past 600. The 12 new deaths reported Tuesday bring the total number of lives lost to 607. It was the 19th time where a dozen or more deaths were reported in the state due to the outbreak according to an unofficial count by UpNorthNews.

There were 40 new hospitalizations reported. Of Wisconsin’s 18,917 COVID-19 cases, 2,643 (14%) have required hospital care. There are currently 388 hospital patients being treated for COVID-19; 139 are in intensive care.

The DHS dashboard of metrics indicating progress fighting the spread of coronavirus shows 5 of the 6 indicators are green.

The U.S. death toll surpassed 106,000 on Tuesday.

June 1, 2020 – All eyes are going to be on Tuesday’s report from the state Department of Health Services after low numbers of testing and positive cases in the Monday and Sunday reports.

Monday’s report shows only 3,632 tests were administered. Sunday’s report was 7,368. The four previous days all reported more than 10,000 tests.

Of Monday’s reported tests, 140 came back positive, or 2.3 percent of the total tests. There were 20 new hospitalizations and 3 newly reported deaths, all in Racine County.

The DHS dashboard of metrics indicating progress fighting the spread of coronavirus shows 5 of the 6 indicators are green.

Wisconsin has now logged 18,543 coronavirus cases, 2,603 hospitalizations and 595 deaths.

The U.S. death toll reached 105,000.


May 30, 2020 – The percentage of new COVID-19 tests coming back positive has stayed within a range over the past few days, but there has been an upturn in the number of deaths from the coronavirus in Wisconsin based on the Saturday report from the state Department of Health Services.

The 20 deaths reported Saturday means there have been 71 deaths in the past 4 days, and 81 deaths in the past 7 days. The only higher 7-day figure was 86 deaths between April 10-16 according to an unofficial tally from UpNorthNews.

Of the 9,843 COVID-19 tests reported on Saturday, there were 523 new positive cases confirmed, or 5.3 percent. Dodge County reported 35 new cases in Saturday’s statistics. Wisconsin has now seen 18,230 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

There were 64 new hospitalizations reported, so of those 18,230 positive cases, 2,563 have required hospital care, or 14 percent. There are 409 current hospitalized cases of COVID-19, with 208 other hospital patients awaiting results of their COVID-19 test.

The U.S. death toll passed 103,000 marking three consecutive days of more than 1,000 deaths. 

Globally, as of Saturday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 6 million.


May 29, 2020 – Another big increase in COVID-19 testing also meant another daily record for new cases in Wisconsin, but the new cases were 5.4 percent of all tests and still within range of the past few days. So while the Friday numbers from the state Department of Health Services do not show widespread growth in the spread of coronavirus, there also aren’t signs the virus is growth is receding. 

There were 13,602 tests administered in the Friday report and 733 new positive cases. There were 47 new hospital cases of COVID-19. And 18 deaths were reported, bringing the state’s death toll to 568 in the outbreak.

There have now been 17,707 coronavirus infections reported in Wisconsin, and 2,499 have required hospital care. 

The DHS Badger Bounce Back dashboard is holding steady at 3 green indicators and 3 red indicators that measure the standards of whether the virus is being contained in Wisconsin.The U.S. death toll from the outbreak topped 102,000 today, as reported by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine dashboard.


May 28, 2020 – Thursday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services showed 512 new COVID-19 cases reported, the 5th time the number of new cases has been at least 500. But it is also the second consecutive day where more than 10,000 tests were administered.

The 512 positive confirmations are 4.8 percent of the 10,626 tests performed.

There were 11 new deaths reported, bringing the Wisconsin toll to 550. Racine County reported five deaths since Wednesday.

There have now been 16,974 coronavirus infections confirmed in Wisconsin. Of those, 2,452 (14 percent) have required hospitalization, reflecting 41 new admissions since Wednesday’s report.

The DHS Badger Bounce Back dashboard is holding steady at 3 green indicators and 3 red indicators that measure the standards of whether the virus is being contained in Wisconsin.The U.S. death toll from the outbreak topped 101,000 today, as reported by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine dashboard.

May 27, 2020 – The vagaries of the holiday weekend may have played a role, but Wednesday’s report from the Dept. of Health Services showed a record number of new COVID-19 cases reported, a new record for daily tests administered, and a new daily record for deaths due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The numbers reported for Monday and Tuesday were lower than recent trends, perhaps due to the Memorial Day break.

The 599 new infections in Wednesday’s report represent 5.8 percent of 10,330 total daily tests.

There were 22 deaths reported since Tuesday. It marked the 16th time the state saw a dozen or more deaths in a 24-hour reporting period, and the first instance of 20 or more deaths day-over-day. Wisconsin has lost 539 lives since the first deaths in the state were reported on March 20, just over 9 weeks ago.

Forest County reported its first death related to the outbreak as well as a doubling of postive cases in the county, from 12 to 24.

There have now been 16,462 coronavirus infections confirmed in Wisconsin. Of those, 2,411 have required hospitalization, reflecting 49 new admissions since Tuesday’s report.

The DHS Badger Bounce Back dashboard is holding steady at 3 green indicators and 3 red indicators that measure the standards of whether the virus is being contained in Wisconsin.

More than 350,000 people around the world have now died in the pandemic, as reported by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine dashboard.


May 26, 2020 – Lower numbers in Tuesday’s report from the state Dept. of Health Services may reflect a lower level of testing for coronavirus over the Memorial Day weekend. There were 279 new COVID-19 cases reported, or 3.6 percent of 7,774 total tests around the state. There were 23 new hospitalizations and three deaths. 

There have now been 15,863 COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin during the outbreak. Of those, 2,362 (15 percent) have required hospital care and 517 people have died. 

The DHS Badger Bounce Back dashboard has 3 green indicators and 3 red indicators measuring the standards of whether the virus is being contained in Wisconsin.

The U.S. death toll as reported by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine dashboard was just short of 100,000 by late Monday afternoon though other sources say that grim milestone has been reached. The 100,000th victim will have been claimed less than 3 months after the first confirmed U.S. coronavirus death was reported on February 29.


May 25, 2020 – Wisconsin reached 500 deaths from the coronavirus outbreak over the Memorial Day weekend based on reports from the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services.

Since Friday’s report, the holiday weekend statistics from the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services show 1,188 new cases (481 on Saturday, 400 on Sunday, 307 on Monday) which brings to 15,584 the total number of confirmed coronavirus infections. Of those, 2,339 (15 percent) have required hospital care and 514 have died. (There were 11 deaths reported Saturday, three on Sunday, four on Monday.)

For Monday, the 307 new positive cases came from 7,480 total tests for a 4.1% positive amount. The percentage of positive tests has been in the 4 to 8 percent range over the past week.

The DHS Badger Bounce Back dashboard has 3 green indicators and 3 red indicators measuring the standards of whether the virus is being contained in Wisconsin.

The U.S. death toll will reach 98,000 on Monday as reported by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine dashboard.


May 22, 2020 – The Friday coronavirus report from the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services showed 511 new cases which continues to reflect an increase in overall testing, a new one-day high of 9,976 tests. The 511 positive tests are 5.1 percent of those total tests, on-par with Thursday’s report.

The 511 new cases brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin to 14,396. Of those, 2,259 (16%) have required hospital care, including 41 new hospitalizations. 

The outbreak claimed 9 more lives, bringing the state’s death toll to 496. A total of 51 people have died of coronavirus in Wisconsin in the past 7 days.

The Badger Bounce Back dashboard has regressed again: only 2 green indicators and 4 red indicators measuring the standards of whether the virus is being contained in Wisconsin.

The U.S. death toll surpassed 95,000 on Friday as reported by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine dashboard.


May 21, 2020 – The Thursday coronavirus report from the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services showed 472 new cases. While on the high side of recent days, there was also a large increase in testing, and the percentage of new positive tests came down from 8 percent on Wednesday to 5 percent today.

The 472 new cases brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin to 13,885. Of those, 2,218 (16%) have required hospital care, including 57 new hospitalizations since Wednesday. 

The outbreak claimed 6 more lives since Wednesday’s report, bringing the state’s death toll to 487.

The Badger Bounce Back dashboard regressed since Wednesday: 3 green indicators and 3 red indicators. The indicator tracking the trajectory of COVID-like syndromic cases over a 14-day period is no longer heading lower.

The U.S. death toll will reach 94,000 by Thursday evening, as reported by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine dashboard, and the total number of people killed by the virus worldwide has reached approximately 330,000.


May 20, 2020 – The Wednesday coronavirus report from the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services showed another new record number of new cases day-over-day: 528 new infections reported, bringing the state’s total number of cases past 13,000.

And although more testing is being done, the percentage of all those new tests that come back positive took another jump in Wednesday’s report: 8 percent, one of the higher daily levels in recent days.

The outbreak has claimed 14 more lives since Tuesday’s report… 481 victims now. Another 51 people needed hospitalization compared to Tuesday.

Both Taylor County and Langlade County today reported their first confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. All 72 counties have now been touched by the coronavirus pandemic.

Four of the 6 indicators on the Badger Bounce Back dashboard are green, two remain red.

The U.S. death toll climbed past 93,000 Wednesday, as reported by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine dashboard, and the total number of people infected by the virus worldwide has reached approximately 5 million.


May 19, 2020 – The Tuesday coronavirus report from the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services showed a second straight day where the number of new positive COVID-19 cases were less than 200. That happened last week on Monday and Tuesday, as well.

Of all COVID-19 tests, 5 percent were positive in Tuesday’s report, an increase from Monday.

There were 8 new deaths reported from Monday, bringing the state’s death toll from the pandemic to 467.

Of the 12,885 cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, 2,110 required hospital care (16 percent), including 42 new hospitalizations since Monday.

Four of the 6 indicators on the Badger Bounce Back dashboard are green, two are red.

The U.S. death toll is approaching 92,000, as reported by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine dashboard.


May 18, 2020 – The Monday coronavirus report from the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services showed a very low number of new positive COVID-19 cases from Sunday, ending a trend of growing numbers to close out last week. The 144 new cases is the lowest daily figure since April 20 and comes only two days after the highest-ever number, 502, was reported.

There were 6 new deaths reported from Sunday, a day after no deaths were calculated for Saturday. The state’s death toll from the pandemic now stands at 459, including 50 people who have died in the past 7 days.

Of the 12,687 cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, 2,068 required hospital care which brings the percentage of cases requiring hospitalization down to 16 percent. Four the 6 indicators on the Badger Bounce Back dashboard are green, two are red.

The U.S. death toll has reached 90,000 and 1.5 million total Americans infected with the coronavirus. The global death toll passed 315,000 over the weekend, as reported by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine dashboard.


May 15, 2020 – On Friday, Wisconsin reported its second highest number of coronavirus cases. The 410 new COVID-19 cases has only been topped by the 460 new cases reported on May 1. The 410 new cases account for just over 6 percent of all new tests performed, similar to Thursday’s ratio. There were 11 more fatalities reported, bringing the Wisconsin death toll from the outbreak to 445. There have been 11,685 cases of COVID-19 reported in Wisconsin. Of those, 1,977 (17 percent) have required hospital care. Worldwide, the number of people infected by coronavirus topped 4.5 million, and the U.S. death toll surpassed 86,000 as reported by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine dashboard.

Author

  • Pat Kreitlow

    The Founding Editor of UpNorthNews, Pat was a familiar presence on radio and TV stations in western Wisconsin before serving in the state Legislature. After a brief stint living in the Caribbean, Pat and wife returned to Chippewa Falls to be closer to their growing group of grandchildren. He now serves as UNN's chief political correspondent and host of UpNorthNews Radio, airing weekday mornings 6 a.m.-8 a.m on the Civic Media radio network and the UpNorthNews Facebook page.

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