The percentage of coronavirus tests that came back positive in the past 24 hours fell to to 6.37 percent — down just slightly from 6.34 percent, but the average over the past 14 days is still on a downward trajectory.
However, Milwaukee County reported an additional 214 new cases after the state posted the positive test rate – the fourth consecutive triple-digit increase for the state’s largest county – bringing the total number of new cases for the day to 481, the highest single-day increase to date.
Wisconsin now has had a total of 11,854 cases, according to Department of Health Services and county public health data.
The latest increase comes two days after the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the Governor Tony Evers’ “Safer at Home” order, allowing businesses to reopen without restriction throughout much of Wisconsin. Some local counties and cities enacted their own orders, however.
Overall since the crisis began, 8.33 percent of all tests have come back positive. That’s slightly lower than it was yesterday, when it was 8.42 percent.
The largest increase in new cases today come from Milwaukee County, which increased by 214. The outbreak in Brown County seems to have slowed down, as just 35 more cases were identified and eight percent of tests came back positive — down from more than 59 percent just a few days ago. 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 1,982 in the county. That’s a rate of 783 cases per 100,000 residents — far higher than the second-highest rate, 475 in Milwaukee County.
However, other hotspot counties have shown no sign of cooling down. Racine County, which increased by 87 as 20 percent of tests came back positive, bringing the county’s infection rate to 470 per 100,000 residents. Similarly, Kenosha County reports an additional 18 cases as 15 percent of tests came back positive.
The statewide death toll is now 445, with 11 more fatalities since Wednesday afternoon.
The rate of disparity in Latino populations continues to stand out — 32 percent of total cases are now Latino people. Latinos make up just seven percent of the state’s overall population.
Similarly, 21 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 53 percent of those confirmed to have been infected have recovered and 3.7 percent have died.
