MADISON, WI (Wisconsin Radio Network-WSAU) – Wisconsin topped 3,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time Thursday.
The state Department of Health Services reported 3,132 new positive tests. That included 110 additional hospitalizations, bring the number of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients to 873, including 219 in intensive care. Hospitals are using 83.1 percent of available beds, 85.1 of intensive care beds, percentages that are even higher in some regions.
A field hospital at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis is scheduled to open on October 14. It can handle up to 530 COVID patients to relieve overcrowded hospitals.
DHS Secretary designee Andrea Palm issued this warning: “It means our state is in a dangerous place. We are overwhelming our healthcare system.”
Nine additional deaths bring Wisconsin’s toll from the global pandemic to 1,424. That’s about one percent of positive cases.
