Wisconsin surpasses 200K confirmed cases of COVID-19; 7-day positivity rate remains above 25%

October 26, 2020 2:57 PM

Brandon Arbuckle,

Posted: October 26, 2020 2:57 PM

Updated: October 26, 2020 10:46 PM

by Brandon Arbuckle

Coronavirus 1280 — This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (yellow)—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (blue/pink) cultured in the lab.

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin has officially surpassed a lifetime total of 200,000 coronavirus cases Monday, according to state and county health officials.

More than seven months passed before the state exceeded 100,000 cases, but reaching the latest milestone of 200,000 only took five weeks.

There were 3,642* new cases confirmed Monday, which puts the state’s all-time total at 201,868*. The state Department of Health Services said over 41,000 of those cases remain active.

As COVID-19 continues to worsen in Wisconsin, the positivity rate for new tests has seen a steady climb for three consecutive weeks. DHS officials said the seven-day rolling average for tests by person has reached 25.4%, or one-quarter of all tests. The seven-day equivalent for total tests by day has increased to 13.1%.

Fifteen more people have died, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,808*. Health officials said 84 have been hospitalized since Sunday.

As of Monday afternoon, four patients have also been admitted to the Alternate Care Facility at State Fair Park.

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*News 3 Now uses data from DHS and county dashboards to calculate daily cases and deaths. DHS posts new numbers daily at 2 p.m., and our newsroom continues to update our totals throughout the day with additional cases that individual counties report. By using a combination of state and county data, News 3 Now is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive and up-to-date COVID-19 coverage.