by Kevin Zimmermann
SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) – Two Sheboygan County residents, both in their 70s, are the latest victims of the coronavirus that began sweeping the area in March. Of the 10,914 that have now experienced COVID-19 here, 86 have lost their battle while 9,583 have recovered. The recoveries rose 68 since Monday while active cases dropped by 50. Only 66 test returns in all were received in the last 24-hours, yielding a positive return rate of 30% with 20 positives added today. 20 persons are currently hospitalized here, two more than Monday.
While the daily change in case numbers were small, an examination of the more significant 2-week trajectories shows Sheboygan County locked in a “Critically High” activity level, with a Burden rate of 1,068.9 cases per 100,000 persons, and no significant change in trajectory.
Wisconsin’s Division of Health Services logged 2,403 new cases of coronavirus infections in the last 24-hours, placing the total so far at 461,015. The positive test return rate was 35%. 120 deaths were recorded, raising the death toll to 4,545. 187 persons were hospitalized since yesterday, and after subtracting discharges and deaths due to COVID-19, the patient population declined 34 to 1,274. 281 of those are in ICU beds, and only 3 patients are now being treated in the Alternate Care Facility at State Fair Park in West Allis. 484 of the state’s 2,372 ventilators are now being used.
The Wisconsin DHS has announced that the State of Wisconsin and Vault Medical Services will jointly offer a new COVID-19 testing option for everyone who lives in Wisconsin, with or without symptoms, at no cost. This will allow people to collect their own saliva samples for testing from within their home. Test kits will be sent upon request through the Wisconsin DHS website, and the test must be collected under supervision by a licensed health care professional over a virtual Zoom call. Once collected, the test samples are to be dropped off the same day at a UPS location, and the results are returned by email within 48 to 72 hours. A link to the website providing all pertinent information was included in the daily report issued by the Sheboygan County Department of Health Services at sheboygancounty.com
