MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Wisconsin saw a record number of single-day deaths related to the coronavirus on Wednesday.
The state Department of Health Services reported 27 new deaths on Wednesday, topping the previous record of 22 on May 27. The seven-day average of new deaths jumped to 10, the highest it has been since June 4. In all, 1,327 people have died in Wisconsin since the pandemic began.
DHS also reported 2,319 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, or 19.7% of the 11,792 total tests completed. The seven-day average of new cases jumped to 2,334.
Since the pandemic began, there have been 122,274 confirmed cases in the state. DHS considers 98,385 people to have recovered from COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.
On Wednesday, DHS also launched a host of new metrics on its website. One of those is the trend of hospitalizations. According to the most recent data, for the week ending Sept. 22, the seven-day average of COVID-19 patients in the hospital was 391, of which 112 were in intensive care. Hospitalizations in the Northeast region, which includes Green Bay, grew by 58%, while those in the Fox Valley region grew by 29% for the same time period. For the week ending Sept. 22, 81.1% of the state’s hospital beds and 79.2% of the ICU beds were in use.
Daily numbers from the Wisconsin Hospitals Association were not yet available as of early Wednesday afternoon.
