Home covid Positive coronavirus test rate falls to 5.5%; 372 new cases identified

Positive coronavirus test rate falls to 5.5%; 372 new cases identified

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After the percentage of coronavirus tests rose slightly yesterday, it fell again to 5.5 percent Sunday as 572 new cases were identified.

The State Department of Health Services reported 400 new cases from 2 pm Saturday to 2 pm Sunday, which included Milwaukee County’s 2:30 pm update from Saturday. A much smaller increase in Milwaukee County reported at 2:30 pm Sunday — 173 new cases Sunday, as opposed to 302 on Saturday — puts the 24-hour increase from 14,985 at 2:30 Saturday to 15,357 at 2:30 Wednesday — a jump of 372 new confirmed cases.

Three fatalities were reported Sunday, bringing the state’s total death toll to 510.

The largest local increase in new cases today comes from Milwaukee County, with 173 new cases and 20 percent of tests coming back positive. The outbreak in Brown County seems to remain under control — just five more cases were identified and three percent of tests came back positive. An outbreak at a meat packing plant in Green Bay has significantly increased the number of positive cases in Brown County, which have now reached 2,177 in the county. That’s a rate of 868 cases per 100,000 residents — far higher than the second-highest rate, 709.8 in Racine County, which reported 11 percent positive tests and 76 new cases.

A hotspot in Kenosha County remains a concern but has cooled off for the day. Today the county reported just 15 new cases and three percent of tests came back positive.

Hospitalizations have been on the rise over the past week, peaking at 416 Friday but falling all the way down to 388 Saturday, then rising again to 399 people currently hospitalized with coronavirus infection. Of those currently hospitalized, 126 require intensive care.

The rate of disparity in Latino populations continues to stand out — 33 percent of total cases are now Latino people, and 38 percent of today’s new cases. Latinos make up just seven percent of the state’s overall population.

Similarly, 19 percent of all cases are Black people, who also make up just under 30 percent of deaths. Black people make up just six percent of the state’s population.

DHS also reports that 59 percent of those confirmed to have been infected have recovered and 3.3 percent have died, leaving about 5,800 active, confirmed infections in the state.