COVID-19 cases, and hospitalizations, increased rapidly this past week.
In a release from the Marathon County Health Department, 170 new COVID cases were confirmed.
Hospitalizations doubled, from 9 to 18, and many hospitals are preparing their COVID units for more.
Officials say that these numbers would go down if more people were vaccinated.
"We know that vaccines are safe and effective." Marathon County Health Department's Public Information Officer Aaron Ruff said, "They help stop the spread. They help you from getting sick, severely sick, getting hospitalized."
He says that since January, 96.3% of COVID cases in the county are unvaccinated people.
Only one death was reported, and Ruff says this number is likely low due to hospitals being more prepared for emergency cases.
He says the county is struggling to keep up with contact tracing and is looking to hire more people to help.
The health department says that with school starting again, it's more important than ever to take necessary precautions, like getting vaccinated, keeping a safe distance, and wearing a mask.
