Wisconsin Sets 7-Day Record For New COVID-19 Cases

MILWAUKEE, WI — Citing a surge in new COVID-19 cases, Wisconsin health officials said the state has seen its highest 7-day rolling average for new cases.

The state set a new record for COVID-19 cases over a 7-day period on Wednesday with an average of 491 cases. On Thursday, that average was pushed to 502 cases.

Wisconsin's previous record was set on May 30 when the state averaged 479 new cases over a 7-day period. By June 17, that average had fallen to a 7-day average of 266, only to climb every day since then.

Wisconsin's new COVID-19 case count Thursday was 539. Wednesday's count was 540 and Tuesday's was 601, according to state health officials.

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On Thursday, the Department of Health Services reported that Wisconsin has seen a recent surge in cases with half of all positive cases coming within the past five weeks. Nearly 20 percent of total COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin have tested positive within the past two weeks, they said.

"This spike in cases is driven in part by an increase in infections among younger people, and contact tracing by some local health departments has revealed that many of these cases can traced back to bars," DHS officials said.

This article originally appeared on the Greenfield Patch