Wisconsin officials confirm nearly 600 more COVID-19 cases

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin health officials have confirmed nearly 600 more cases of COVID-19 in the state.

The state Department of Health Services said Friday that the state has now seen 30,317 confirmed cases since the pandemic began in March. That’s up 579 cases from Thursday.

The department reports three more people have died since Thursday, bringing the total dead to 796. Nearly 40 addtional people were hospitalized since Thursday, bringing the total hospitalizations to 3,555, or about 12% of the total cases.

Nearly 80% of people infected have recovered, however, leaving the state with 5,473 active cases as of Friday. The percentage of positive tests had been dropping over the last four days, from a 14-day high of 7.1% on Sunday to 4.2% on Thursday, but rose on Friday to 5.7%

The actual number of infections is thought to be far higher than the state’s totals because many people have not been tested and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.