Public Health of Madison and Dane County reported 111 new COVID cases today, bringing the county’s cumulative total to 38,504. Of today’s 111 cases reported, 48 — about 43 percent — are aged 18-22. As of this morning, those aged 18-22 account for 22 percent of all cases in Dane County, but 24 percent of all tests since the pandemic began. There is no further information of how many of today’s 111 new cases are from the UW campus. For the past seven days, Dane County has averaged 21.2 cases per day per 100,000 residents.
The area’s current recovered case count is now at 36,425 while active cases dropped to 1,681, or four percent of current cases, according to DHS’ update at 2 pm yesterday. Out of all cases in Dane County, about 52 percent were in Madison while 48 percent have been outside of Madison.
There was also a slight decrease reported this morning for hospitalizations in Dane County with 62 people currently hospitalized for COVID-19. This includes people who reside in and out of Dane County. Of the 62 people currently hospitalized, 20 are in the ICU.
Dane County’s total death toll from COVID-19 remained at 256 this morning.. There are now a total of 40 deaths reported for the month of January. December of 2020 still remains the deadliest month for the county with a total of 87 deaths from COVID-19.
Testing has increased as UW students have returned and the campus is requiring regular testing of all students. This could lead to an increase in total positive cases, as well as a decrease in positive test rate. According to preliminary data of all tests, the County is averaging 6,338 tests per day for the past 7 days while the average number of tests for the past 14 days is at 6,290 tests per day.
As of yesterday’s dashboard update on UW’s website, UW is averaging 4,847 tests a day for the past seven days for on-campus testing with an average of 36.0 cases per day for the same time from in both in and off campus testing – an increase from yesterday’s reported 33.6 per day. For the past seven days, cases have grown for UW students and staff about 86.7 percent while testing on campus has grown about 30 percent. The positivity rate for on campus testing for staff and students remains at 0.7 percent for the past 7 days.
According to this week’s Data Snapshot from PHMDC, about 17 percent of all cases between January 18 through January 31, were from UW students an staff or about 281 people (252 students, 29 staff). Of all tests conducted in Dane County, 54 percent were collected by University Health Services during this same time frame. 
For Dane County, the 14-day positive test rate as of February 1 is now at 1.9 while the seven-day rate has dropped to 1.7. These rates do not include preliminary data from the past four days as that data continues to adjust as more tests are attributed.
For Dane County residents, the number of people ever hospitalized for COVID-19 has grown to 1,161.
More comprehensive data for vaccinations was unveiled this morning as part of the PHMDC’s Data Dashboard. The data, to be updated every Wednesday and Friday per week, breaks down vaccinations in Dane County by age, and now by race and ethnicity. The data is retrieved from the Wisconsin Immunization Registry for all adults and children within the state. The release and the information on the dashboard does warn that some of this information may be incorrect or incomplete as the data is not updated as soon as someone is vaccinated.
In total, about 62,505 people have received at least one dose of vaccine — 11.4 percent of all Dane County residents — while 21,288, 3.9 percent of all residents, have completed both doses. Of those 62,505 residents, 38.2 percent are 65 and older while those aged 25-34 follow with 16.4 percent. Vaccination data broken down by age range for those from 16 – 65+. No data for children is available as the vaccinations have not yet been approved for those under 15.
From all those who have been vaccinated, 2.5 percent are Hispanic or Latino. Hispanic/Latinx people make up seven percent of the county and are underrepresented in those being vaccinated. Black people, who make up about six percent of the population, only make up 2.6 percent of those who’ve received at least one dose of vaccine.
Madison365 has updated our weekly map of COVID-19 cases in the county by census tract.
We will have an update later this afternoon for statewide numbers after 3 pm.
