NEWS

Wisconsin officials report record number of COVID-19 tests and 728 new cases, down to 4% positivity

Matt Piper
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Wisconsin health officials reported a record number of COVID-19 tests Tuesday, when the rate of new tests that were positive was lowest in nearly a month.

There were 728 positive results, or 4% of 18,138 tests, in Tuesday's update from the Department of Health Services. The last time the positivity rate was so low was July 7, when it was 3.9%.

All told, 56,056 Wisconsin residents have tested positive for COVID-19. Twelve more recently lost their lives to the disease, according to DHS on Tuesday, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to 961.

The Wisconsin Hospital Association reported 327 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday afternoon, down 18 from Monday.

Of those, 110 were in intensive care — 10 fewer than Monday.

Note that state reports of new test results and deaths may lag because of reporting delays and other factors. State officials therefore caution against drawing strong conclusions from a single day's worth of statistics.  For more on the state's data, click here.

The Department of Health's weekly ratings of county COVID-19 activity were as follows on Wednesday, July 29.

Note that ratings are based on a combination of total new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks and the percent change in new cases between the past seven days and the seven days before that. Parentheses reflect a change in the activity level from the previous week's rating.

  • High: Adams, Barron, Bayfield, Brown, Buffalo, Burnett (up), Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Forest, Grant, Iron, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Langlade (up), Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee (up), Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Price, Racine, Rock, Sauk, Sawyer (up), Shawano, Sheboygan, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, Walworth, Washburn (up), Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago and Wood
  • Medium: Ashland (down), Crawford, Green, Green Lake, Iowa (down), Jackson, Richland, Vernon and Vilas
  • Low: Florence (down) and Rusk (down)

Contact Matt Piper at (920) 810-7164 or mpiper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @matthew_piper.