By Shereen Siewert

The number of positive coronavirus cases in Wisconsin rose Wednesday to 2,756, while the death toll climbed to 99, according to state health officials.

In Marathon County, confirmed cases stayed firm at 12, with 319 negative tests processed.

Women account for 53 percent of all confirmed infections statewide, but men appear to suffer more deadly consequences of the virus, representing 62 percent of COVID-19-related deaths statewide.

About 29 percent of patients require hospitalization, state figures show.

Other developments:

  • University Hospital in Madison will join a national effort to transfuse antibodies from the plasma of people who recovered from the coronavirus to treat patient still struggling with it. The technique is a century-old treatment used to fight off flu and measles outbreaks in the days before vaccines, and tried more recently against SARS and Ebola.
  • Wisconsin’s primary is expected to result in additional court battles. Marc Elias, a prominent attorney who represents the Democratic Party on voting issues. said he expects to file lawsuits within the coming weeks against states that Democrats argue haven’t taken adequate steps to protect voters and poll workers during the outbreak. The party is pushing steps to make it simpler to request and return mail-in ballots.
  • As health officials around the world push to get more ventilators to treat coronavirus patients, some doctors are moving away from using the breathing machines when they can. The reason: Some hospitals have reported unusually high death rates for coronavirus patients on ventilators, and some doctors worry that the machines could be harming certain patients. The evolving treatments highlight the fact that doctors are still learning the best way to manage a virus that emerged only months ago. They are relying on anecdotal, real-time data amid a crush of patients and shortages of basic supplies.
  • New York endured one of its darkest days so far, with the virus death toll surging past the number killed on 9/11. It recorded 731 new coronavirus deaths, its biggest one-day jump yet, for a statewide toll of nearly 5,500.
  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19, spent a second night in intensive care.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.