MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s downward trend in new positive COVID-19 cases continued Tuesday, just as the first doses of vaccine were being administered to frontline healthcare workers across the state.
Wisconsin reported 3,501 new positive cases and 54 deaths on Tuesday. That brings the total number of cases to 442,396 and 4,122 deaths. In Marathon County, officials on Tuesday reported 37 new cases, bringing the total to 11,023. The death toll in Marathon County is 162.
The seven-day average of new cases as of Tuesday was 3,421, nearly half of what it was a month ago when cases were peaking. The seven-day average remains above where it was in October and is nearly triple where it was in September.
Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has decreased by 592, a drop of 13%, according to date from Johns Hopkins University.
There were 1,024 new cases per 100,000 people in Wisconsin over the past two weeks, which ranks 23rd in the country for new cases per capita. One in every 208 people in Wisconsin tested positive in the past week.
Wisconsin’s death count is the 23rd highest in the country overall and the 31st highest per capita at 75 deaths per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins.
Health officials are urging people to remain vigilant by wearing masks and socially distancing even as the vaccine begins to be distributed. They say it will be months before most people are vaccinated and herd immunity is achieved.
