MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – As Wisconsin sees a reported surge in COVID-19 cases, there doesn’t seem to be a significant corresponding rise in virus-related deaths.
The state Department of Health Services reported the seven-day average at 1,104, with 1,460 new positive tests coming on Wednesday. The rolling seven-day average remained far above its low of 60 as of July 5, however.
Four deaths related to COVID-19 were reported Wednesday – which is a bit higher than typically seen in previous weeks. But it’s still not rising like the confirmed case count. DHS deputy secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk explains why.
“People who are at highest risk for death from this disease are the best protected,” Van Dijk told WTAQ News. “If you look at the vaccination rate for those who are most at risk for this disease, those folks who are 65 or older – they have the highest vaccination rate in the state of Wisconsin somewhere around 90-percent.”
But she says death isn’t the only indicator we should be looking at, expressing concern that a continuing rise in spread could lead to higher numbers of serious illnesses in the long run.
“The more disease we have, the more opportunity there is for people to be hospitalized, to suffer serious consequences from this disease, and also to die,” Van Dijk explained. “While younger people may be less likely to die, getting COVID is still a very serious event for them…Deeply concerned about younger people who get this disease, who have symptoms of what’s called long-COVID. We don’t know how long they will live with it, and it can deeply impact the quality of their lives. ”
Overall during the pandemic, Wisconsin has seen 634,495 confirmed cases and 7,466 deaths.
