WISCONSIN – In an address to the state Tuesday evening, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers urged Wisconsinites to stay home and follow social distancing guidelines as coronavirus cases grow across the state.
“Wearing a mask is not a political statement. It’s a sign to coworkers or strangers that you pass in the grocery store that you care about them, and they care about you too,” Evers said.
The state of Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported a record 7,075 new coronavirus cases Tuesday — the second time over 7,000 — on just under 20,000 tests, a positive test rate of just over 35 percent.
Meanwhile, the number of people currently hospitalized jumped by 67 to 2,070. That’s 356 more than a week ago. Of those 2,003, 418 are in an ICU.
The seven-day positive test rate continued its rise, jumping to 36 percent, up from 35 yesterday, and the highest yet.
The total number of cases ever confirmed in Wisconsin is now 278,843, of which just about 62,000 — more than 22% — are considered active. That’s up by about 3,000 from Saturday.
The Wisconsin Hospital Association released a video titled Wisconsin is losing, which highlights how hospitals are filling up.
Racine County added 1,777 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past week, a number that county officials called “extraordinarily high.”
The Racine County weekly COVID-19 report confirmed 9,609 cases of the virus since counts began in March. Further, there have been 128 deaths including 14 within the past week. The percentage of tests coming back positive stands at 10.4 percent. The countywide case rate growth has been in the “very high” risk category since October 1 and has climbed dramatically since mid-October.
Individuals who test positive for the COVID-19 virus are reminded to:
- Stay home and isolate for a minimum of 10 days after symptom onset.
- If you did not have symptoms and were tested, remain isolated for ten days from the date of testing.
- You can return to work or school on day 11 if free of fever and see an improvement in other symptoms for 24 hours.
- Notify your employer or school if you are positive.
- Notify your close contacts and ask them to quarantine for 14 days from the last day of contact with you.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 testing is at several locations in Racine and Kenosha counties. UPDATED Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing Schedule For Racine, Kenosha Counties
