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Positive test rate drops to 2.4% as massive data dump reports 54,000 tests in one day

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The state of Wisconsin reported more than 13,000 new coronavirus tests on Thursday, of which 840 were positive, for a positive test rate of about 6.4 percent. The seven-day average of new cases per day rose slightly to 633.

The seven-day positive rate, which would be less subject day to day fluctuations in testing, fell sharply to 2.4 percent, the lowest it’s been March 10 of last year. The lower positive test rate is owed at least in part to more than 54,000 negative tests being attributed to February 23, with only 827 positive tests attributed to that date. In recent weeks, the number of negative tests each day has been slightly higher than 30,000.

The death toll is seeing a similar data anomaly today, as the state reported 52 fatalities, bringing the total death toll to 6,364. Of the 52 reported today, 32 were reported in Jefferson County, seemingly dating back as far as November. This caused the seven-day average of deaths to jump from 18 to 23.

Since March, an additional 159 people have tested positive for COVID but died of other causes.

The state also reported Tuesday that just over 411,000 Wisconsin residents have completed the COVID-19 vaccination series, almost 39,000 more since yesterday. In all, more than 1.25 million vaccine doses have been administered to more than 842,000 people.

The estimated number of active cases — diagnosed in the past 30 days — held steady at just over 8,400, about 1.5 percent of the 562,151 total cases confirmed in Wisconsin.

The state DHS also reports that as of last Thursday, 6,339 samples of the coronavirus had been genetically sequenced, and six instances of the B.1.1.7 variant, the so-called UK variant, had been identified. No instances of the Brazil or South African variants have been identified in Wisconsin. This data was not updated today.