Wisconsin state and county health departments have been reporting relatively high numbers of positive COVID cases recently.
The Department of Health Services confirmed another 8,058 new COVID cases Tuesday.
It’s the highest single day total for new cases since the pandemic began, but DHS warns the number is still a cumulation of some test results backlogged over the holidays.
Still, the state is averaging 5,700 cases a day.
The 7-day average for new deaths from COVID is 20.
Northwoods counties are still reporting a high number of cases.
Forest County reported 38 news cases between Friday and Tuesday.
Oneida County is reporting 75 cases in that same time frame.
Lincoln County had 149 people test positive in the last week.
Vilas County is reporting 77 new cases since last Thursday along with 9 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
The County Health Departments says three of the deaths occurred throughout 2021 and were just added because of updated information.
The other six people all died in December.
Between Forest, Iron, Langlade, Lincoln, Oneida, Price, and Vilas counties 481 people have died from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
The stress on our healthcare system remains one of the biggest threats with this latest surge.
Wisconsin Hospital Association data for the North Central region shows COVID hospitalizations are down from 218 patients mid-December to 158 as of Monday afternoon.
That still leaves only three ICU beds and five intermediate care beds immediately available in the region.
