More counties are turning red on the CDC’s community levels map.
Oneida, Iron, Vilas, and Forest Counties are now in the “high” community level.
At this level, the CDC recommends wearing a mask indoors in public.
Right now, the state is averaging around 1,500 cases a day.
The state has been flirting with these numbers all summer.
At the beginning of July, they dipped to around 1,200 a day.
In Mid-May they peaked at about 2,200.
There are two things that have health experts concerned with this wave.
One is many believe case number are being severely under reported because of widespread at-home testing availability.
The other major concern is the nature of the current variant making its way around.
The CDC says the BA.5 strain is spreading faster than its predecessors, accounting for 65% of cases reported in the U.S. last week.
This variant also doesn’t seem as susceptible to natural immunity or vaccine antibodies.
Meaning you’re more likely to get sick from this variant.
Though if you have your vaccine and booster shots or have recently recovered from a COVID infection, you are still less likely to be hospitalized or die from the virus.
COVID hospitalizations in the North Central Region this summer have fluctuated between 30 to 40 patients daily according to Wisconsin Hospital Association Data.
