How COVID activity has changed in Wisconsin since November

It is nowhere near the level of thousands of new cases of COVID-19 a day in November in Wisconsin, but a small increase in cases has worried state health officials. Wisconsin has improved its spread of COVID-19 since November, when cases peaked and critically high activity skyrocketed. However, the Department of Health Services is warning the public that the vaccination rate has not yet eased the high-activity burden in many of the state’s 72 counties.

Declining activity: from critically high to high

COVID-19 activity in Wisconsin fell from critical levels close to the state in November to a mix of high and medium activity across the state’s 72 counties, according to the latest DHS data. The “critically high” measurement is a rate about three times more serious than the next level below, “very high”, says DHS.

The last time a county was marked as red, or with critical activity, was in January. Since then, dark blue – or “very high” – counties have declined; the latter disappeared towards the end of February, around the same time, a small handful of counties plunged into low activity for the first time in months.

But in the last two-week period that ended on March 23, most counties in Wisconsin are still marked as having high activity, with most of the rest – except three – in the middle range.

“We have dropped from an extremely critical, superhigh level, of more than 6,000 cases a day, to the level we are today,” DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said at a news conference on Thursday, referring to a few hundred new cases per day today. “This is still very high.”

Vaccinations: North and Mid-South Wisconsin Lead by Percentage of Population

On Friday, Bayfield and Door counties led Wisconsin as a percentage of the population receiving their first COVID-19 vaccine with 40% or more. 18 additional counties receiving their first dose – almost all in northern and southeastern Wisconsin around Dane County – had a rate of 30% or more. Overall, only two counties – Taylor and Clark – fell below 20% in the state.

With a third variant announced on Friday in Wisconsin, health officials are asking people to continue with safe practices – like outdoor activities, limited meetings and masks – for a little while longer, while vaccinations stand a chance. to increase.

“If we can only give this a few more months of the kind of progress we are making, I think we will be in a much better position to protect all of us,” said Willems Van Dijk.