Wisconsin passes 14,000 COVID-19 deaths

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - COVID-19 hasn’t gone away, as the families of 101 people whose deaths were reported to the state since the first of the year can attest.

Tuesday, The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) reported deaths passed another milestone, reaching 14,012 since the first COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state in March 2020.

Wisconsin averaged 728 confirmed cases per day over the past 7 days. The state hasn’t averaged over 1,000 cases per day since before Christmas.

Deaths from the disease have been slowing. It took 226 days since the state passed 13,000 deaths, on May 30, 2022, to reach the next grim milestone -- the longest gap on record:

Deaths	Date reported	Days between
14,012	January 11, 2023	226
13,001	May 30, 2022	89
12,012	March 2, 2022	30
11,062	January 28, 2022	30
10,014	December 29, 2021	29
9,019	November 30, 2021	60
8,009	October 1, 2021	128
7,003	May 26, 2021	110
6,020	February 5, 2021	30
5,039	January 6, 2021	25
4,041	December 12, 2020	21
3,005	November 21, 2020	21
2,031	October 31, 2020	81
1,006	August 11, 2020	145
2	March 19, 2020

The DHS says since the pandemic began, a total 1,731,064 people have tested positive for COVID-19. That’s 29.4% of the population. The DHS says 70,029 individuals have ever been hospitalized for it. The Wisconsin Hospital Association reports there are currently 560 COVID-19 patients hospitalized around the state, including 77 in intensive care.

According to state health officials, 65.8% of Wisconsin residents have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine but only 18.7% of the population has received the most up-to-date booster that protects against some variants.

As of last Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not report any counties in Wisconsin with “high” community levels of the disease. Thirty-three counties have “low” levels -- including Langlade, Menominee, Outagamie, Shawano, and Waupaca in WBAY’s extended viewing area -- and 39 have “medium” levels. Levels are based on new cases per capita, hospital admissions per capita, and hospital occupancy.

COVID-19 ranked as the 3rd leading cause of death in Wisconsin in 2021, behind heart disease and cancer, with 130.2 deaths per 100,000 residents. The flu and pneumonia combined ranked 9th, with 9.7 deaths per 100,000.