MADISON, Wis. (WBAY) – Wisconsin health officials say the state saw a sharp increase in the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 during the Labor Day weekend.
The number of people needed to be hospitalized continues its upwards trend. Since the pandemic began, the state’s cumulative tally is 36,284, which is 5.4% of all coronavirus cases. It’s also 217 more people since Friday’s report. While Monday’s hospitalization number includes patients admitted over the weekend, this is the first time the state has reported more than 200 admissions in a single COVID-19 update since June 1, when 285 people were admitted, and before that, on January 5 when 216 people were reported to be hospitalized.
Despite 114 more hospitalizations, when discharges and deaths are taken into account, there was only a net gain of 2 COVID-19 patients in the state. The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) reported 978 patients as of Friday, with 305 in intensive care — 3 more in ICU since Thursday. There are 86 COVID-19 patients in Fox Valley hospitals — 7 fewer than the day before; 18 of them are in ICU, which is unchanged. Northeast health care region hospitals have 94 patients — 4 more than a day ago — with 27 of them in ICU, an increase of 2. Wisconsin has not had more than 1,000 people hospitalized at one time for COVID-19 since January 13, so that’s a number to keep an eye on. The WHA typically updates its page at 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday but has yet to do so as of 4 p.m. on the Labor Day holiday.
The rise in hospitalizations comes as more people continue to start and complete the vaccine series.
So far, 55.3% of state residents, including 66.2% of adults, rolled up their sleeves to start the vaccination process.
Calumet County passed the 50% of its population milestone getting at least one dose of vaccine on Monday, with 50.1% of the population having done so. Keep in mind, these percentages include children who aren’t eligible.
Meanwhile, Door County is the first county in the Action 2 News viewing area to break the 70% threshold for starting vaccine series and reports 70.2% of the population has done so as of Monday. The only other county in Wisconsin to have at least 70% of the population be partially vaccinated is Dane County, which reports 72.7% of the population has begun the vaccination process.
Wisconsin reports another 10,711 people received their finishing dose Monday, bringing the state to 3,022,155 people who completed their vaccination series. That’s 51.9% of the population, if you include children too young to be vaccinated, and 62.5% of the population 18 and older.
Brown, Door, Menominee, Outagamie, Sheboygan and Winnebago Counties all report at least half of all residents completing their vaccinations. Manitowoc County is the next closest to making it to the 50% threshold, and currently reports 49.5% of the population completing the vaccine series.
The 16-17 and 18-24 age groups continue to flip for the lead on the percentage of the age group getting vaccinated. As of Monday, the 16-17 age group passed the young adult group again. Young adults still lead in the percentage fully vaccinated, but those numbers are close, too.
Since Friday, every age group except the 65 and older saw an increase in the percentage for starting and completing their vaccination series. Out of all age groups, the 12-15 age group saw the largest increase, with 0.5% starting and 0.6% completing the series. Except for the 65 and older group, everyone reported at least a 0.2% increase for starting and completing the series.
Another 934 people were confirmed to have the virus that causes COVID-19 in the latest report. Tests are confirming an averaging 1,766 cases per day since last week, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) on Monday. The average of all coronavirus tests that came back positive in the past week returned to 8.1% Monday, after a drop to 8.0% in Friday’s state report.
COVID-19 deaths continue to be in the double digits, with 14 new deaths reported Monday, and the state’s death toll is now at 7,666. Outagamie and Waupaca Counties reported one and two deaths, respectively. Two of the deaths occurred in the past 30 days, but the state’s 7-day average holds steady at 9 per day.
Wisconsinites getting COVID-19 vaccine, by age group (and change since last report)
- 12-15: 43.5% received vaccine (+0.5)/36.8% fully vaccinated (+0.6)
- 16-17: 49.6% received vaccine (+0.5)/44.1% fully vaccinated (+0.4)
- 18-24: 49.5% received vaccine (+0.3)/44.3% fully vaccinated (+0.2)
- 25-34: 53.8% received vaccine (+0.4)/48.9% fully vaccinated (+0.2)
- 35-44: 61.5% received vaccine (+0.4)/57.0% fully vaccinated (+0.2)
- 45-54: 63.1% received vaccine (+0.3)/59.3% fully vaccinated (+0.2)
- 55-64: 72.3% received vaccine (+0.2)/69.2% fully vaccinated (+0.2)
- 65 and up: 84.9% received vaccine (+0.0)/82.9% fully vaccinated (+0.0)
The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene says every case sample it tested so far from the week of August 23 and the week of August 16 was the delta variant. Only a fraction of COVID-19 cases get genetic testing, but sampling tells health officials know which variants are spreading and when new strains appear.
Even with the delta variant causing the same viral load in people with or without the vaccine, health experts say vaccinated people who test positive for the coronavirus are more likely to have mild symptoms or be asymptomatic, but they can still be carriers and spread the virus through water vapor in their breath, which is why vaccinated adults and children are still encouraged to wear masks.
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, the Oneida Nation and Options for Independent Living announced Monday night they will be holding free vaccination clinics at NWTC. No appoint is necessary for the clinic, and anyone who is at least 12 years old is eligible for the vaccine. If you’d like to attend the clinic, but need help with transportation, you’re asked to call 920-490-0500. The clinics will be held at the following dates and times:
- Tuesday, Sept. 7 from 8 a.m. – 11 a.m.
- Wednesday, September 8 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- Tuesday, September 14 from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
VACCINATIONS BY COUNTY POPULATION (MONDAY)
| County (Population) (Health region) | % of population (change from previous report) | Completed % of population (change from previous report) |
|---|---|---|
| Brown (264,542) (NE) | 55.9% (+0.2) | 52.6% (+0.2) |
| Calumet (50,089) (FV) | 50.1% (+0.2) | 47.4% (+0.1) |
| Dodge (87,839) | 45.1% (+0.2) | 42.1% (+0.2) |
| Door (27,668) (NE) | 70.2% (+0.3) | 67.1% (+0.2) |
| Fond du Lac (103,403) (SE) | 48.1% (+0.3) | 45.0% (+0.2) |
| Forest (9,004) | 45.2% (+0.2) | 42.8% (+0.1) |
| Florence (4,295) (NE) | 46.2% (+0.0) | 44.4% (+0.0) |
| Green Lake (18,913) (FV) | 49.3% (+0.3) | 46.1% (+0.1) |
| Kewaunee (20,434) (NE) | 45.3% (+0.1) | 42.9% (+0.2) |
| Manitowoc (78,981) (NE) | 52.5% (+0.2) | 49.5% (+0.2) |
| Marinette (40,350) (NE) | 46.0% (+0.1) | 43.1% (+0.2) |
| Menominee (4,556) (FV) | 64.8% (+0.1) | 56.3% (+0.5) |
| Oconto (37,930) (NE) | 46.7% (+0.2) | 44.1% (+0.1) |
| Outagamie (187,885) (FV) | 55.6% (+0.2) | 52.4% (+0.2) |
| Shawano (40,899) (FV) | 41.3% (+0.2) | 38.6% (+0.2) |
| Sheboygan (115,340) (SE) | 53.8% (+0.2) | 50.9% (+0.2) |
| Waupaca (50,990) (FV) | 48.2% (+0.3) | 45.3% (+0.2) |
| Waushara (24,443) (FV) | 39.4% (+0.2) | 37.3% (+0.1) |
| Winnebago (171,907) (FV) | 53.5% (+0.3) | 50.2% (+0.2) |
| NORTHEAST REGION (474,200) (NE) | 256,411 (54.1%) (+0.3) | 241,507 (50.9%) (+0.1) |
| FOX VALLEY REGION (549,682) (FV) | 284,881 (51.8%) (+0.2) | 267,874 (48.7%) (+0.2) |
| WISCONSIN (5,822,434) | 3,219,708 (55.3%) (+0.2) | 3,022,155 (51.9%) (+0.2) |
MONDAY’S COUNTY CASE AND DEATH TOTALS (increase since the last report is in bold)**
- Brown – 34,371 cases (+244) (263 deaths)
- Calumet – 6,290 cases (+21) (51 deaths)
- Dickinson (Mich.)* – 2,499 cases (59 deaths)
- Dodge – 12,898 cases (+83) (179 deaths)
- Door – 2,850 cases (+29) (30 deaths)
- Florence – 462 cases (13 deaths)
- Fond du Lac – 13,749 cases (+99) (137 deaths)
- Forest – 1,092 cases (+12) (24 deaths)
- Gogebic (Mich.)* – 1,165 cases (24 deaths)
- Green Lake – 1,818 cases (+15) (23 deaths)
- Iron (Mich.)* – 1,077 cases (43 deaths)
- Kewaunee – 2,513 cases (+7) (29 deaths)
- Langlade – 2,240 cases (+23) (35 deaths)
- Manitowoc – 8,234 cases (+35) (78 deaths)
- Marinette – 4,501 cases (+9) (69 deaths)
- Menominee (Mich.)* – 1,994 cases (42 deaths)
- Menominee – 846 cases (11 deaths)
- Oconto – 4,909 cases (+28) (64 deaths)
- Outagamie – 22,240 cases (+106) (229 deaths) (+1)
- Shawano – 5,078 cases (+11) (73 deaths)
- Sheboygan – 14,907 cases (+40) (156 deaths)
- Waupaca – 5,379 cases (+23) (128 deaths) (+2)
- Waushara – 2,376 cases (+13) (38 deaths)
- Winnebago – 19,898 cases (+160) (206 deaths)
* The Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Wisconsin Hospital Association do not publish updates on weekends. Update: Michigan Department of Health updates information on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Due to the Labor Day holiday, Michigan’s numbers were not updated today.
** Cases and deaths are from state COVID-19 reports, which may differ from local health department numbers. The Wisconsin DHS reports cases from all health departments within a county’s boundaries, including tribal, municipal and county health departments; county websites may not. Also, public health departments update their data at various times, whereas the DHS freezes the numbers it receives by the same time every day to compile the afternoon report.
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