Brandon Arbuckle
Posted:
Updated:
MADISON, Wis. — More than 700 people in Wisconsin have now died due to COVID-19, according to state and county health officials.
Seven more deaths were confirmed Tuesday, putting the state’s death toll at 705.
Wisconsin has reached a lifetime total of 23,273 confirmed cases, with 271 new cases in the past 24 hours, up from the 207 reported Monday afternoon. Health officials said 17,122 people have fully recovered, which is about 74% of all positive cases.
New data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services shows that the positive percentage of new COVID-19 tests has gone down slightly from 2.8% to 2.4% Tuesday.
Although the amount of daily testing has varied throughout the month, the positive percentage of new tests has not gone above 4% since June 4. On Tuesday, DHS officials said there were nearly 5,000 more people tested compared to Monday’s totals.
The state has 68 active labs capable of running tests, and 25 additional labs have plans to test in the future.
With Dane County now in Phase Two of its reopening plan, health officials have reminded the public that frequent hand washing, social distancing and other precautions have not gone away.
“I think that it’s easy when we get to a place like this where we may start thinking, ‘Well things are working, and we don’t need to do what we’ve been doing all along,’” said Bonnie Koenig, the business liaison for Public Health Madison and Dane County. “But really we need to remember that it’s because we’ve been doing the right thing all along that we’re here.”
UW Health doctors are also urging people to seek help quitting smoking or vaping, as a new study reveals how the two can put someone at greater risk of getting coronavirus.
For the latest on COVID-19 in Wisconsin, click here.
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