COVID-19 in Wisconsin: High levels in 11 counties, medium levels in 20
18 of 20 Northeastern counties had low levels of COVID-19 in the community
MADISON, Wis. (WBAY) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 11 Wisconsin counties are seeing high levels of COVID-19. These counties are grouped in the northwest, central, and southeastern parts of the state. Eighteen of the 20 counties we’re tracking in Northeastern Wisconsin are “in the green,” seeing low levels of community spread of the virus. The exceptions are Forest and Langlade counties, which have medium levels of the COVID-19 virus with 18 other counties around the state. There are 41 counties with a low level of community spread of the virus.
For comparison, last week Wisconsin had 10 counties with high COVID-19 levels and 24 with medium levels.
The CDC labels are based on COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the previous 7 days, COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and the percentage of hospital beds filled by COVID-19 patients.
Wisconsin continues to see a rise in new confirmed cases of the coronavirus since the Memorial Day holiday. The state is averaging 1,755 new cases per day; the rolling, 7-day average is up from 1,652 a day earlier. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) says 2,645 more cases were confirmed in the latest tests, and 14.0% of all COVID-19 tests in the last week were positive for the virus, back to a level we saw in mid-May.
Manitowoc County passed 18,000 cases. Marinette County crossed 10,000 since the pandemic began.
Eight counties in WBAY’s viewing area reported double-digit case numbers; 10 counties reported new cases in single digits; Kewaunee and Menominee counties didn’t report any new cases Friday.
The DHS says 2 recent deaths were submitted since the last state report, but the death toll only went up by 1, to 13,027 people. Calumet County recorded its 100th COVID-19 death. The other death was in Vernon County. Dodge County’s death toll was revised downward by 1.
A relatively low number of people with COVID-19 were admitted to hospitals. The 23 admissions followed two days of elevated numbers, including the most hospitalizations reported in a day in 3 months. With the high number of cases, the hospitalization rate slipped another hundredth of a point to 4.14% of all COVID-19 cases requiring a hospital stay. That’s the lowest hospitalization rate in our records which go back to April 20, 2020.
As we reported, over 400 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals Thursday for the first time since March 6. That only lasted a day, as the Wisconsin Hospital Association saw a net difference of 20 fewer patients after taking discharges and deaths into account. The WHA reported 397 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, with the number in ICU unchanged at 65. The ICU patient number is still the most in intensive care at one time since March 7.
The Northeast health care region has 35 patients, the same as Thursday, with 6 in ICU, which is one more than the before. Fox Valley hospitals have 16 COVID-19 patients, 1 fewer than Thursday, with 2 in ICU, the same as Thursday.
For COVID-19 vaccinations, 7-day averages reached new lows for total doses administered (1,544/day), booster shots administered (749/day) and Wisconsinites getting at least their first vaccine dose (196/day), based on our calculations.
The 7-day averages for Wisconsinites completing their vaccinations (370/day) and getting booster shots (842/day) rebounded strongly after the latest vaccinators’ reports, again based on our calculations. The rise in people completing their vaccine series can’t last, though, with those numbers naturally following the ebb and flow of first-time vaccinations by 3 or 4 weeks when people are due for their second dose.
The latest vaccinations were enough, though, to bump the percentage of Wisconsinites having at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose in their arm to 64.5% of the population, or 3,759,454 people. The DHS reports 61.3% of the population has completed their vaccine series, getting both doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or, less commonly, the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The largest growth continues to be in boosters right now, with 34.6% of the population having that extra shot.
Friday’s Vaccinations by Age Group
- 5 to 11: 28.0% received vaccine/25.2% completed vaccinations/0.0% received booster
- 12 to 17: 61.9% received vaccine/58.5% completed vaccinations/20.2% (+0.1) received booster
- 18 to 24: 60.6% received vaccine/55.1% (+0.1) completed vaccinations/19.7% received booster
- 25 to 34: 64.5% received vaccine/60.0% completed vaccinations/25.7% received booster
- 35 to 44: 69.5% received vaccine/66.0% completed vaccinations/33.4% (+0.1) received booster
- 45 to 54: 71.8% received vaccine/69.0% completed vaccinations/38.4% (+0.1) received booster
- 55 to 64: 78.2% received vaccine/75.7% completed vaccinations/49.7% received booster
- 65 and up: 85.4% received vaccine/82.7% (+0.1) completed vaccinations/68.1% received booster
Friday’s Vaccinations by County Population
| County (Population) (Health region) | % of population with at least 1 dose | % of population completed series |
|---|---|---|
| Brown (264,610) (NE) | 65.9% | 63.3% |
| Calumet (50,209) (FV) | 57.0% | 54.9% |
| Dodge (87,336) | 52.7% | 50.6% |
| Door (27,889) (NE) | 78.9% | 75.1% |
| Florence (4,298) (NE) | 53.2% | 50.6% |
| Fond du Lac (102,902) (SE) | 56.0% | 53.5% |
| Forest (8,960) | 53.0% | 50.5% |
| Green Lake (18,908) (FV) | 57.6% | 54.9% |
| Kewaunee (20,386) (NE) | 52.7% | 51.3% |
| Langlade (19,119) | 54.1% | 52.1% (+0.1) |
| Manitowoc (78,757) (NE) | 60.8% | 58.6% |
| Marinette (40,262) (NE) | 53.7% | 51.5% (+0.1) |
| Menominee (4,546) (FV) | 81.2% (-0.1) | 77.9% (-0.1) |
| Oconto (38,383) (NE) | 53.1% | 51.4% |
| Outagamie (188,766) (FV) | 64.5% | 61.9% |
| Shawano (40,786) (FV) | 48.1% | 46.5% |
| Sheboygan (115,240) (SE) | 63.2% | 60.7% |
| Waupaca (50,664) (FV) | 55.7% (+0.1) | 53.8% |
| Waushara (24,326) (FV) | 46.3% | 44.4% |
| Winnebago (171,631) (FV) | 62.5% | 59.7% |
| NORTHEAST REGION (474,585) (NE) | 299,413 (63.1%) | 287,797 (60.6%) |
| FOX VALLEY REGION (549,836) (FV) | 331,280 (60.3%, +0.1) | 317,862 (57.8%) |
| WISCONSIN (5,832,655) | 3,759,454 (64.5%, +0.1) | 3,573,664 (61.3%) |
To find free COVID-19 vaccination sites near you, text your ZIP Code to 438829. Visit wbay.com/vaccine for a list of health care organizations offering vaccine shots.
FRIDAY’S COUNTY CASE AND DEATH TOTALS* (boldface indicates change since the last report)
- Brown – 72,881 cases (+93) (427 deaths)
- Calumet – 11,915 cases (+7) (100 deaths) (+1)
- Dickinson (Mich.)** - 5,143 cases (88 deaths)
- Dodge – 25,166 cases (+6) (295 deaths) (deaths revised -1 by state)
- Door – 6,882 cases (+9) (61 deaths)
- Florence - 834 cases (+4) (17 deaths)
- Fond du Lac – 30,686 cases (+31) (261 deaths)
- Forest - 2,502 cases (+5) (48 deaths)
- Gogebic (Mich.)** - 2,825 cases (40 deaths)
- Green Lake - 4,463 cases (+5) (55 deaths)
- Iron (Mich.)** - 2,382 cases (71 deaths)
- Kewaunee – 4,687 cases (42 deaths)
- Langlade - 5,094 cases (+10) (75 deaths)
- Manitowoc – 18,007 cases (+12) (161 deaths)
- Marinette - 10,001 cases (+9) (108 deaths)
- Menominee – 1,958 cases (15 deaths)
- Menominee (Mich.)** - 4,054 cases (61 deaths)
- Oconto – 9,530 cases (+6) (97 deaths)
- Outagamie – 44,070 cases (+69) (361 deaths)
- Shawano – 10,230 cases (+5) (129 deaths)
- Sheboygan – 30,580 cases (+65) (272 deaths)
- Waupaca – 11,761 cases (+15) (197 deaths)
- Waushara – 5,208 cases (+3) (70 deaths)
- Winnebago – 46,289 cases (+70) (337 deaths)
* You can find cases and deaths for all 72 Wisconsin counties on the DHS County Data website and for Michigan counties on the Michigan Department of Health COVID-19 website. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Wisconsin Hospital Association publish updates Mondays through Fridays.
** Michigan Department of Health updates county information on Wednesdays.
Cases and deaths are from state COVID-19 reports, which may differ from local health department numbers. The Wisconsin 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.
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