MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – For the first time since December 2020, Wisconsin health officials have confirmed more than 4,000 COVID-19 cases on back-to-back days.
The news came as a person in California became the first in the U.S. to be documented with the omicron variant of the virus.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported 4,534 new cases on Tuesday, following Monday’s revised total of 4,728. The seven-day average increased to 2,796 cases.
Test positivity averaged 12.2% over the most recent seven-day period.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed all of Wisconsin in the “high” category for virus transmission.
With 31 deaths reported Tuesday, the seven-day average increased to 17.
Since the pandemic began, there have been 879,614 total cases and 9,052 deaths in Wisconsin.
As of Wednesday, 59% of state residents had received at least one dose of vaccine and 56.1% had completed their vaccine series.
The rolling seven-day average of total doses stood at 14,217, with 11,434 of those being booster shots.
Overall hospitalizations declined on Wednesday. The Wisconsin Hospital Association reported treating 1,406 COVID-19 patients, 12 fewer than on Tuesday but 128 more than a week earlier. Of those, 408 were in intensive care, 15 more than on Tuesday and 71 more than a week earlier.
Of the 1,331 ICU beds in the state, 3.7% were immediately available.
Northeast region hospitals had 152 COVID-19 patients, down five in a day and four over a week. Of those, 44 were in ICUs, down three over both a day and a week. In the Fox Valley region, there were 109 COVID-19 patients, down three in a day and two over a week. Twenty-four of those were in ICUs, the same as on Tuesday and five more than a week earlier.
