Wisconsin now has 3,130 people who have been infected with the novel coronavirus, according to state and county data, an increase of 166 cases. Additionally, 128 people have died of complications caused by the virus.
Dane County now has 316 positive cases and 12 deaths. Milwaukee County has 1,634 cases and 75 deaths — 50 of whom were Black.
About 29 percent of positive cases have required hospitalization. Currently, 454 people are hospitalized with coronavirus infection and 273 people are hospitalized with tests pending.
State Department of Health Services Secretary-Designee Andrea Palm said the state now has 20 labs ready to process more than 3,500 tests every day, but local clinics and hospitals have not been conducting that many. As a result, state officials have revised guidelines to allow more people to be tested.
“Clinicians should not feel restrained in any way when they feel a test is beneficial to their patient,” said Dr. Ryan Westegaard, the chief medical officer of the state Bureau of Communicable Diseaes.
