Higher percentage of COVID-19 specimens sequenced are contagious variants

Close to 90 percent of recently sequenced COVID-19 specimens reported to the Department of Health Services in the last week were variants of concern, although fewer sequenced specimens were reported than in prior weeks.

Laboratories sequenced 13,021 COVID-19 specimens as of Thursday, up 157 from last week.

The number of newly sequenced specimens reported was lower than in prior weeks. There were 810 results reported a week ago; 1,095 two weeks ago; 363 three weeks ago; 856 four weeks ago and 418 five weeks ago.

Of those newly reported, about 87.3 percent, or 137, were variants of concern:

• 126 more cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, which was discovered in England in November, for a total of 1,942.
• three more cases of the B.1.427/B.1.429 variants, which were discovered in California a year ago, for a total of 578.
• eight more cases of the P.1. variant, which was discovered among travelers from Brazil after arriving in Japan in January, for a total of 108.

The number of cases of the B.1.351 variant, which was discovered in South Africa in October, remained at 43.

DHS reported 448 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, for a total of 607,586.

The state’s death toll remains at 6,978, with two more deaths reported.

An additional 3,779 Wisconsinites have been tested for COVID-19, for a total of 3,525,661.

DHS considers 6,696 cases active.

The seven-day average for daily new cases is 389, down five from Wednesday and 76 from a week ago.

The seven-day average for daily new deaths is four, down four from Wednesday and down seven from a week ago.

As of Wednesday, the seven-day positivity rate by test was 2.7 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from Tuesday and 0.3 percentage points from a week ago, per preliminary data from DHS.

Wisconsin vaccinators administered 4,996,313 doses of COVID-19 vaccine through Thursday. They gave 21,751 doses on Thursday, with a seven-day average of 23,287 daily shots.

Per state data, 46.3 percent of the state’s population, or 2,698,327 Wisconsinites, have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 40.5 percent, or 2,356,348 Wisconsinites, have completed their vaccination series.

Per the Wisconsin Hospital Association, there were 269 total COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Wisconsin on Thursday, down 16 from Wednesday and 48 from a week ago.

Seventy-three were in intensive care units, down six from Wednesday and 17 from a week ago.