COVID-19 hospitalizations set another record

There were a record number of COVID-19 patients in Wisconsin hospitals and intensive care units on Monday.

There were 1,172 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, an increase of 82 from Sunday up 222 from the prior week, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

Of those, 302 were in ICUs, a single-day increase of 18 and up 62 from last week.

The Department of Health Services reported 3,777 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, as it resumed its daily reporting following a pause over the weekend while it updated its data system.

That pause resulted in a backlog of positive cases, according to the agency, and could lead to higher case numbers over the next few days. DHS recommended people look at the seven-day average for reporting cases.

DHS didn’t report any new cases on Saturday, but it reported 3,928 on Sunday. The seven-day average is 3,099 new daily cases.

A total of 173,891 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported. So far, 1,877,704 people have been tested.

There have been a total of 1,600 deaths, with 12 reported on Monday and 14 on Sunday.

The seven-day percent positivity rate per person as of Sunday was 21.1 percent, while the rate per test was 11.7 percent.

The Wisconsin National Guard will collect specimens for COVID-19 testing in 38 out of 72 counties this week. Some of those efforts will be for community-based testing, while other sites will be facility specific.

The “Stop the COVID Spread!” Coalition has now grown to 30 members and released its first public service announcement Monday featuring UW System Interim President Tommy Thompson.