Benita Mathew, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Published 3:56 p.m. CT June 28, 2020 | Updated 3:57 p.m. CT June 28, 2020
The percentage of new tests that were positive for the coronavirus reached its highest point in more than a month Sunday.
State health officials announced 457 cases — the most yet on a Sunday — in a little under 6,500 test results. That’s a positivity rate of 7.1%, the highest since 8% on May 20.
The daily positivity rate — a key indicator of the disease’s overall prevalence — was regularly below 3% during the first half of June but has trended up recently, fueled in part by an increase in cases among 20-somethings.
That age group accounted for 186 of Sunday’s positive results, or 41%, compared with just 22% of 27,743 total confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
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The Department of Health Services didn’t report new deaths Sundays, and the statewide toll remained at 777.
Younger people have had a lower COVID-19 fatality rate, and of those ages 20 to 29 in Wisconsin who’ve tested positive for the coronavirus, only 3% have ever been hospitalized, according to DHS. Eight people in that age range have died.
There were 251 people in hospitals with known cases of the virus as of Sunday. Of those, 93 were in intensive care. An additional 145 hospital patients were awaiting coronavirus test results, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association.
Sunday was the fourth straight day that newly reported cases exceeded 400, the first time that’s happened since late May.
Global cases have surpassed 10 million, and deaths neared 500,000 as of mid-Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University. About a fourth of cases and deaths were in the U.S.
On Wednesday, Wisconsin’s coronavirus activity level received a weekly rating from the state health department as “high,” based on total newly reported cases and the recent trend in new cases.
County ratings as of Wednesday were as follows:
- High: Brown, Clark, Dane, Eau Claire, Grant, Jefferson, Kenosha, La Crosse, Lafayette, Manitowoc, Marathon, Milwaukee, Monroe, Outagamie, Portage, Racine, Rock, Trempealeau, Walworth, Waukesha, Waupaca and Winnebago.
- Medium: Adams, Barron, Calumet, Chippewa, Columbia, Crawford, Dodge, Florence, Fond du Lac, Forest, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jackson, Juneau, Kewaunee, Langlade, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Ozaukee, Pierce, Polk, Rusk, St. Croix, Sauk, Shawano, Sheboygan, Taylor, Vernon, Washington, Waushara and Wood.
- Low: Ashland, Bayfield, Buffalo, Burnett, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Iron, Lincoln, Pepin, Price, Richland, Sawyer, Vilas and Washburn.
Contact Benita Mathew at (920) 309-3428 or bmathew@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @benita_mathew.
RELATED: Younger people are a factor in surge of COVID-19 cases, analysis shows
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