For the second time in less than a week, daily COVID cases in Wisconsin topped 12,000.
Those are the two highest daily totals for the state during the pandemic.
Wisconsin is now averaging nearly 9,700 cases a day.
With the exponential rise in cases the last few weeks, hospitalizations are also rising.
Statewide there’s 2,259 people currently hospitalized with COVID, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association. That’s just 18 shy of the peak in November 2020, the record for the state.
The North Central Region saw a slight dip in COVID hospitalizations in early January but those are starting to increase once again with 185 people in the region hospitalized because of the virus.
DHS data shows 90 percent of hospitals in the region with their ICUs at peak capacity.
Disease activity level is listed at critically high.
The impact is starting to be felt around the region.
Three Lakes School District kept third graders home Monday and Tuesday “Due to high levels of illness, staffing issues and possible COVID exposure.”
Watersmeet Township schools made the switch to distance learning for the next week.
Many high schools have had to cancel or postpone games.
This week, Governor Evers Administration sent a letter to Wisconsin School Administrators urging them to participate in the school-based testing program, follow isolation and quarantine guidelines, require masks for everyone in schools, and offer-school based vaccination and booster clinics.
Health officials are urging people to take steps to prevent the spread of virus including getting vaccinated, wear a proper-fitting mask, and stay home if you’re sick.
