Daily record of new coronavirus cases, deaths shattered Tuesday

MADISON, Wis. (WBAY) – For the first time since testing began, more than 5,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in a single day.

According to the Department of Health Service’s daily report, 5,262 people tested positive Tuesday out of a total of 16,528 new tests. Another 11,266 people tested negative within the past 24 hours.

A record setting 64 new deaths were reported by the state’s health department Tuesday. The previous record was set last week, with 48 new deaths reported on October 21.

Wisconsin has now seen 1,852 people die from the disease caused by the coronavirus. Despite the record amount of new deaths reported in a single day, the death rate remains at 0.90%.

The Wisconsin DHS has seen a total of 206,311 positive tests since testing began in February. In that same time period, 10,636 people have been hospitalized for COVID-19.

220 people were hospitalized within the past 24 hours.

The DHS said Monday that it took Wisconsin seven and a half months to reach the first 100,000 cases, and just over a month to reach another 100,000 cases.

Action 2 News will continue to emphasize the state’s summary statistics counting each person once no matter how many times they’re tested. This is the standard method used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its federal reporting and is a better indication of the spread of the coronavirus in a community. For data including all of the results for people tested multiple times, visit the DHS website.

POSITIVE CASES

The 5,262 new cases come after Monday’s low report of less than 3,000 new cases. Keep in mind Tuesdays generally have higher numbers due to weekend tests being processed.

As of Monday, the state’s positivity rate was at 25.7%.

Wisconsin is averaging 3,975 new coronavirus cases every day in the last 7 reports, an increase from Monday’s seven day average of 3,879 cases.

As of Monday, the positivity rate including multiple tests of the same people is now at 12.9%.

County-by-county numbers are listed later in this article.

ACTIVE CASES

The percentage of active cases increased Tuesday to 20.9% after having dropped to 20.4% Monday. There are 43,163 people who are considered active cases, meaning they were diagnosed within the past 30 days and haven’t been medically cleared.

The state says just over 161,000 people (161,260) are considered recovered (78.2%).

HOSPITALIZATIONS

The state reports 220 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 within the past 24 hours.

Wisconsin currently has 339 patients in intensive care for COVID-19, and 1,385 hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment overall, according to the DHS. Those numbers have increased since Monday.

Since the first patient in Madison on February 5, 10,636 people have been hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment. The 7-day average is at 157 patients per day, a decrease from Monday. The rate of hospitalization for people diagnosed with the coronavirus has held steady since Sunday at 5.2%. Saturday’s percentage was 5.3%.

The number of patients at the state’s alternate care facility (ACF) set up at the Wisconsin State Fair Park near Milwaukee increased by one Tuesday, bringing the total number of patients there to five. The facility opened on October 14 with the intent of handling an overflow at hospitals around the state by receiving patients who are closer to discharge but not quite healthy enough, to make room for people with more serious conditions. To protect patient privacy, the DHS doesn’t say where patients are from.

HOSPITAL READINESS

In terms of hospital readiness, Tuesday’s report from the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) says 12.7% of ICU beds are open. The WHA says there are 1,385 total COVID-19 patients throughout the state, with 339 of those patients in the ICU. The DHS reported Tuesday that out of all hospital beds in the state (10,933), about 14.7% are available (1,608).

In the Fox Valley Region, the WHA says as of Tuesday that in 13 hospitals serving 8 counties, there are 139 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, with 24 in ICU. 27 ICU beds are open.

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s report from the WHA shows the Northeast Region’s 10 hospitals serving 7 counties are caring for 154 COVID-19 patients, including 49 in ICU. The region has 12 ICU beds open.

Day-to-day changes take hospital discharges and deaths into account.

Prevea CEO/president Dr. Ashok Rai cautioned on Action 2 News This Morning last week that an open bed isn’t necessarily an available bed if the hospital doesn’t have the staffing to support a patient in it (see related story). For this reason, we’re using the term “open” more frequently than “available,” even though that’s the WHA’s terminology.

TUESDAY’S COUNTY CASE NUMBERS (Counties with new cases or deaths are indicated in bold)*

Wisconsin

• Adams - 502 cases (+36) (5 deaths)
• Ashland - 274 cases (+5) (3 deaths)
• Barron – 1,093 cases (+31) (6 deaths)
• Bayfield - 225 cases (+4) (2 deaths)(+1)
• Brown – 15,103 cases (+515) (93 deaths)(+4)
• Buffalo - 262 cases (+9) (3 deaths)
• Burnett – 308 cases (+11) (6 deaths)
• Calumet - 2,676 cases (+48) (11 deaths)
• Chippewa - 1,581 cases (+48) (11 deaths)
• Clark – 867 cases (+41) (15 deaths)
• Columbia – 1,761 cases (+43) (5 deaths)
• Crawford – 328 cases (+5)
• Dane – 14,560 cases (+255) (48 deaths)
• Dodge – 4,051 cases (+106) (27 deaths)
• Door - 780 cases (+25) (5 deaths)
• Douglas - 774 cases (+8) (1 death)
• Dunn – 1,039 cases (+22) (1 death)
• Eau Claire – 3,442 cases (+122) (12 deaths)
• Florence - 210 cases (6 deaths)(Decrease of 1 from Monday’s DHS report)
• Fond du Lac – 4,461 cases (+337) (20 deaths)(+1)
• Forest - 464 cases (+15) (10 deaths)
• Grant – 1,833 cases (+24) (30 deaths)(+1)
• Green - 932 cases (+8) (5 deaths)
• Green Lake - 741 cases (+16) (3 deaths)(+1)
• Iowa - 466 cases (+8) (1 death)
• Iron - 190 cases (+6) (4 deaths)(+2)
• Jackson - 472 cases (+8) (1 death)
• Jefferson - 2,697 cases (+76) (11 deaths)(+1)
• Juneau - 774 cases (+15) (4 deaths)
• Kenosha – 4,958 cases (+9) (76 deaths)
• Kewaunee - 1,069 cases (+35) (7 deaths)(+1)
• La Crosse – 4,187 cases (+84) (20 deaths)
• Lafayette - 531 case (+17) (1 death)
• Langlade - 954 cases (+53) (9 deaths)
• Lincoln - 783 cases (+27) (10 deaths)(+3)
• Manitowoc – 2,764 cases (+68) (11 deaths)(+1)
• Marathon - 4,620 cases (+125) (53 deaths)(+1)
• Marinette - 1,709 cases (+59) (12 deaths)(+1)
• Marquette - 607 cases (+5) (2 deaths)
• Menominee - 298 cases (+10)
• Milwaukee – 40,143 (+985) (578 deaths) (+7)
• Monroe - 1,111 cases (+26) (4 deaths)
• Oconto – 2,090 cases (+27) (14 deaths)(+1)
• Oneida - 1,222 cases (+14) (14 deaths)(+1)
• Outagamie – 9,176 cases (+189) (72 deaths)(+9)
• Ozaukee - 2,209 cases (+67) (24 deaths)(+1)
• Pepin – 140 cases (+7)
• Pierce – 693 cases (+12) (7 deaths)
• Polk – 548 cases (+11) (3 deaths)(+1)
• Portage - 2,730 cases (+57) (21 deaths)(+2)
• Price - 355 cases (+3) (2 deaths)(+1)
• Racine – 7,299 cases (+295) (112 deaths)(+5)
• Richland - 458 cases (+9) (8 deaths)
• Rock – 5,077 cases (+154) (44 deaths)(+2)
• Rusk - 205 cases (+6) (1 death)
• Sauk – 1,732 cases (+89) (7 deaths)
• Sawyer - 372 cases (+3) (3 deaths)
• Shawano – 2,406 cases (+50) (23 deaths)(+5)
• Sheboygan - 4,697 cases (+107) (23 deaths)(State revised, -1)
• St. Croix - 1,806 cases (+31) (11 deaths)
• Taylor - 475 cases (7 deaths)
• Trempealeau – 1,006 cases (+16) (2 deaths)
• Vernon - 495 cases (+10) (2 deaths)
• Vilas - 555 cases (+12) (5 deaths)
• Walworth - 3,385 cases (+30) (38 deaths)(+1)
• Washburn – 242 cases (+12) (2 deaths)
• Washington - 4,367 cases (+86) (42 deaths)
• Waukesha – 12,186 cases (+310) (119 deaths)(+6)
• Waupaca – 2,371 cases (+58) (38 deaths)
• Waushara – 1,009 cases (+29) (5 deaths)
• Winnebago – 8,726 cases (+173) (59 deaths)(+3)
• Wood - 1,679 cases (+45) (9 deaths)

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula **

• Alger - 84 cases (+3) (1 death)
• Baraga - 75 cases (+5) (4 deaths)
• Chippewa - 84 cases (+6)
• Delta – 1,059 cases (+20) (23 deaths)(+1)
• Dickinson – 621 cases (+8) (19 deaths)
• Gogebic - 285 cases (+2) (3 deaths)
• Houghton – 777 cases (+8) (8 deaths)
• Iron – 408 cases (+2) (22 deaths)(+1)
• Keweenaw – 19 cases (+1)
• Luce – 39 cases (+3)
• Mackinac - 124 cases (+1)
• Marquette - 904 cases (+28) (15 deaths)(+1)
• Menominee - 636 cases (+16) (5 deaths)
• Ontonagon – 89 cases (+2)
• Schoolcraft - 70 cases (+5)

* Viewers have asked us why the state has different numbers than what’s reported on some county health department websites. The DHS reports cases from all health departments within a county’s boundaries, including tribal, municipal and county health departments; county websites may not. Also, public health departments update their data at various times whereas the DHS freezes the numbers it receives by the same time every day to compile the afternoon report.

The DHS reports deaths attributed to COVID-19 or in which COVID-19 contributed to their death. Most of the people severely affected by the coronavirus have underlying illnesses or conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease or obesity, which raises a person’s risk of dying from COVID-19 but would’ve lived longer if not for their infection. The state may revise case and death numbers after further review, such as the victim’s residence, duplicated records, or a correction in lab results. Details can be found on the DHS website and Frequently Asked Questions.

**The state of Michigan does not update numbers on Sundays.

Symptoms

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified these as possible symptoms of COVID-19:

• Fever of 100.4 or higher
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Chills
• Repeated shaking with chills
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Sore throat
• New loss of taste or smell

Prevention

• The coronavirus is a new, or “novel,” virus. Nobody has a natural immunity to it. Children and teens seem to recover best from the virus. Older people and those with underlying health conditions (heart disease, diabetes, lung disease) are considered at high risk, according to the CDC. Precautions are also needed around people with developing or weakened immune systems.
• To help prevent the spread of the virus:
• Stay at least six feet away from other people
• Avoid close contact with people who are or appear sick
• Stay at home as much as possible
• Cancel events and avoid groups, gatherings, play dates and nonessential appointments
• Stay home when you are sick, except to get medical care
• Wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol
• Cover your mouth and nose with a mask. At a minimum, use a tissue when you cough or sneeze or use the inside of your elbow.

Health experts say face masks are still the most effective way the general public can slow the spread of the coronavirus, but only if the masks are worn appropriately -- over the nose and chin. County and state health officials are reminding and urging people to stay home when they feel sick, avoid large gatherings, and distance yourself six feet from people who aren’t from your household.

To help people understand how their decisions affect their own health and others, the Department of Health Services has a decision tool at https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/decision.htm. The tool describes how choices matter and offers suggestions to make activities safer.

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