Study: More Wisconsinites have COVID-19 antibodies than in summer

Preliminary results from the second wave of a University of Wisconsin study suggest 6.8 percent of Wisconsinites have evidence of recent COVID-19 infection, four to five times the level during the summer.

The Survey of the Health of Wisconsin tested 1,070 people for COVID-19 antibodies, which indicate a recent infection regardless of whether someone showed symptoms. They tested survey participants between October and December.

Its previous work found 1.6 percent of participants had evidence of antibodies when tested in July and early August. The biggest increase came in north and northeast Wisconsin.

The Department of Health Services and Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene partnered with the UW School of Medicine and Public Health on the study, one of two COVID-19 research efforts announced by DHS this summer.

DHS recently began releasing data from the other study, which involves monitoring wastewater.

Health officials reported 5,501 new cases of COVID-19 and 102 related deaths over the weekend.

That brought the total to 457,177 cases and 4,417 deaths.

So far, 2,751,375 Wisconsinites have been tested.

The Department of Health Services considers 36,736 cases active.

The seven-day average of daily new cases is 2,914, down 599 from last week.

The seven-day average of daily new deaths is 52, up four from last week.

As of Sunday, the seven-day positivity rate by person was 26.7 percent, a decline of 1.4 percent from last week. By test, it was 9.4 percent, a decline of 1.4 percent from last week.

The state’s surge facility in West Allis was treating five patients on Sunday morning.