DHS: 1,221 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases In Wisconsin

The state Department of Health Services announced Monday there are 1,221 positive cases of COVID-19 statewide. However, the number continues to grow as counties announce positive cases.

According to figures from DHS and local health officials, 19 people in Wisconsin have died of COVID-19 as of Monday afternoon. There has been one death each in Dane, Iron, Sauk and Waupaca counties, two in Fond du Lac, three in Ozaukee County and 10 in Milwaukee County.

Milwaukee’s African American community has been hit particularly hard during the pandemic. The majority of deaths in the county were African Americans living on the city’s northwest side.

New confirmed cases announced Sunday pushed the state well past the milestone of 1,000 cases — on Saturday the number sat just below that at 989.

The number of positive cases increased by 109 from Sunday to Monday.

At a Monday afternoon press conference, DHS Secretary Andrea Palm said the state has had 15,856 negative tests. That figure was fewer than what the department released over the weekend, when it said there had been 16,550 negative tests. A DHS spokesperson told WPR “the number of people with negative test results now reflects Wisconsin residents only and excludes duplicate lab results.”

Early last week, Gov. Tony Evers’ administration issued a “safer-at-home” order prohibiting travel and the operation of non-essential businesses in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. The order went into effect at 8 a.m. Wednesday and is in effect until April 24, or until another order is issued.

During a media briefing Monday, Evers and Palm continued to urge people to stay home.

“Stay the course, Wisconsin,” Evers said. “The more we all stay safer at home, the sooner we can get through the worst of this.”

Evers said the state is “headed into the worst of this.”

Without further restrictions on movement, DHS officials said they believe 22,000 residents would test positive for COVID-19 by April 8, and 440 to 1,500 people would die from the disease.

Earlier Monday, Evers’ office announced the state will be able to double its capacity to process COVID-19 tests under a new public-private partnership.

The partnership includes laboratory support from Exact Sciences, Marshfield Clinic Health System, Promega and UW Health, according to the Associated Press.

Existing labs that had been performing tests were able to complete between 1,500 and 2,000 a day, but that is expected to double initially and grow as more supplies become available, Evers’ office said in a statement announcing the agreement.

“I’m sure many of us would like to wake up from this nightmare tomorrow morning and say it never happened, but the responsible thing is to plan for the worse and hope for the best,” Evers said.