MADISON, Wis. — COVID-19 hospitalizations have spiked in the past month as the Delta variant continues to spread nationwide.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services said Wednesday that hospitalizations have grown by 600% in the past month alone, bringing the seven-day average to 435, up from mid-July’s seven-day average of 79.
Your #COVID19_WI update, w/hospital data showing:
⏺️ Total COVID/ICU patient levels are what they were 6 months ago
⏺️ COVID patient numbers have increased 600% over the past month
⏺️ Most regions are at critical capacity, fewer than 10% of beds availablehttps://t.co/lkiGTjSo8P pic.twitter.com/rIuM3hgNUe— WIDeptHealthServices (@DHSWI) August 11, 2021
According to DHS data, hospitalizations are increasing in all seven of the state’s health care regions.
With the number of COVID patients in the ICU at the same level they were in mid-February, growing COVID hospitalizations mean less room to treat patients with other medical needs. As of Aug. 11, 86.8% of hospital beds and 89.5% of ICU beds statewide were in use.
A majority of hospitals, though, have some level of bed availability.
The rise in hospitalizations comes as new cases statewide have reached heights not seen since February when vaccination efforts began to ramp up. On Tuesday, the state reported 1,316 new cases, which is the most since Feb. 3.
New deaths from the disease have not yet seen an increase alongside rising cases and hospitalizations. On Tuesday, DHS reported three new deaths, bringing the state’s total to 7,462 since the start of the pandemic.
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