MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s lifetime total of COVID-19 cases is quickly approaching the 300,000 mark, with nearly 7,000 new cases recorded Thursday.
State and county health officials confirmed 6,905* more cases, which puts the all-time total at 294,190*.
The state Department of Health Services said the seven-day average of new cases per day has reached an alarming high of 6,209, and more than 66,000 cases remain active.
According to DHS, the vast majority of counties in Wisconsin have “critically high” activity levels for disease spread. Health officials said the new category is almost three times higher than the “very high” activity level, which is what all 72 counties were previously classified as.
The statewide surge of new cases has been a concerning one, as health officials said more than 46% of lifetime cases have been recorded within the past month.
At least 2,555* people in Wisconsin have died of coronavirus complications, with 56 more deaths confirmed since Wednesday afternoon. An additional 264 have been hospitalized with the virus.
As of 2:50 p.m. Thursday, the DHS website experienced issues and had not displayed the latest data for the state’s positivity rates.
With Thanksgiving a couple weeks away, UW Health says gatherings during the pandemic will need to be much different in order for families to celebrate safely.
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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.
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