97 hospitalized with COVID-19 as 7-day average positivity rate remains above 17%

MADISON, Wis. — Nearly 100 people in Wisconsin were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Friday, according to the latest data from the state Department of Health Services.

The hospitalization rate has remained consistently high, with 97 on Friday alone. That number is slightly lower than the previous day’s 109 hospitalizations.

At least 1,357 people throughout the state have died due to coronavirus complications, with six more deaths confirmed Friday.

One day after Wisconsin surpassed a lifetime total of 125,000 confirmed cases, state and county health officials recorded an additional 2,381* new cases Friday. The state has had 128,131* cases since the start of the pandemic, and roughly 23,000 of those remain active.

As the coronavirus worsens in Wisconsin, Madison-area health care providers have urged the public to continue practicing public health guidelines to prevent hospitals from reaching full capacity.

The seven-day average percent positive is now at 17.5%, with 13,595 tested in the past day.

DHS added a new COVID-19 metric to its website Wednesday which includes all tests taken for the seven-day average positivity rate. As of Friday afternoon, that percentage is at 9.3%. More information on how DHS calculates both totals can be found here.

President Donald Trump’s rally in Janesville was canceled after he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 early Friday morning.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill tested negative for the virus after meeting with Trump earlier in the week for the first presidential debate.

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*News 3 Now uses data from DHS and county dashboards to calculate daily cases and deaths. DHS posts new numbers daily at 2 p.m., and our newsroom continues to update our totals throughout the day with additional cases that individual counties report. By using a combination of state and county data, News 3 Now is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive and up-to-date COVID-19 coverage.