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Guy Boulton
| Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin reported its lowest daily number of COVID-19 cases in four weeks on Monday, but the state continued to face strained hospitals and the consequences of a multi-month spike in cases.
The State Department of Health Services reported 3,095 new cases and six deaths on Monday, bringing the death toll to 3,011.
Mondays are typically the lowest case counts for the week, as fewer tests are done and processed on the weekends. Monday’s tally was the lowest since October 26, also a Monday.
Jeff Pothof, an emergency physician and director of quality at UW Health, said the good news could be short lived as Thanksgiving gatherings are likely to cause an increase in cases.
“I don’t know how long this is going to last, and we’re all scared of Thanksgiving,” Pothof said. “But not seeing that higher number every day is a nice break.”
Cases climbed for weeks in Wisconsin, repeatedly breaking records. Hospitalizations and deaths from the virus have increased as a result. More than 74,000 people had active COVID-19 infections in the state on Monday.
Health officials implore residents to celebrate Thanksgiving with only members of their household. The virus can be spread easily at holiday gatherings, with people nearby indoors for hours, not wearing masks while they eat and drink.
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Hard-hit Eau Claire hospital has installed beds in ambulance bay
Hospitals across the state are at or near full capacity and face severe staffing shortages as hundreds of healthcare workers are forced into home quarantine after being exposed or infected in the community.
As of Monday, there were 1,999 people hospitalized with the virus, including 438 patients in intensive care units.
Hospitals in northwestern Wisconsin – the hardest-hit region in the state – remain near capacity.
The Mayo Clinic Health System hospital in Eau Claire installed four beds in a heated ambulance bay on Wednesday to treat overflowing patients in its emergency department, said Pam White, the health system’s chief nurse for the region of northwestern Wisconsin. The hospital used some of these beds for several hours that day, but has not used them since.
Staffing remains a challenge.
“We’re tired,” White said. “We are very tired.”
The health care system has sent nurses from its Phoenix hospital to help with staffing. He also dispatched weekend nurses from Rochester, Minn. And seven nurses who retired in the past two to three years, including a few who live out of state, have returned to work to help during the pandemic.
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More: UW Health issues open letter urging state residents to take pandemic seriously
Numbers drop after deadliest week in pandemic
Monday’s lowercase figures follow a week of high cases and record deaths.
The seven-day average of daily new cases, a metric that smooths out anomalies and helps represent trends, was 5,859 on Monday.
The seven-day average of cases is down from an all-time high of over 6,500 last Wednesday, but it’s still eight times the seven-day average reported on September 1, just as the spike in cases began in Wisconsin .
Wisconsin surpassed 3,000 coronavirus deaths on Saturday, just three weeks after passing 2,000. The day capped the deadliest week in the pandemic with 380 dead.
But on Sunday, the state reported no new deaths for the first time since late September – except for one day in October when the state’s data system was down for maintenance.
And Monday’s death toll of six is the lowest daily toll since early November.
Deaths are not always reported by state health officials the same day they occur, and the daily death toll tends to drop at the start of the week.
The average daily death toll over the past seven days was 52; two months ago, when the outbreak of cases started in Wisconsin, it was four.
A model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that Wisconsin could pass 5,000 coronavirus deaths before Christmas if the state continues on its path.
The average positivity rate was 29.3% on Monday, the first time it has dropped below 30% since late October. The measure examines the first positive tests in the last seven days.
Group sues Dane County over indoor rally limits
Also on Monday, a gymnasium and two residents of Dane County sued public health officials in an attempt to overturn the ban on gatherings that aims to prevent Thanksgiving events from making the pandemic worse.
The lawsuit, filed by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, argues that restrictions on family gatherings and sporting events are invalid because they were put in place by public health officials rather than the Dane County Board or the Madison Common Council.
If the state’s Supreme Court agrees with those bringing the lawsuit, city and county officials in the state will need to vote on the finer details of their COVID-19 policies instead of leaving that job to the hands of. health officials.
Dane County Council and Common Council have given their combined public health department ample leeway in setting such policies. The lawsuit argues that elected officials cannot do this and must vote on specific restrictions before they can take effect.
The health department last week issued an order banning indoor gatherings of any size other than those with household members. Under this policy, extended family and loved ones cannot get together indoors for Thanksgiving.
The restrictions also apply to sports games and practices, group exercises, meetings, training, lectures and movies.
“COVID-19 needs to be taken seriously. But these decisions need to be made by the local board of directors,” WILL President Rick Esenberg said in a statement. “Banning private family gatherings just before Thanksgiving, while still allowing Black Friday shopping, doesn’t make sense.”
Dane County Director Joe Parisi said the legal advocacy group and others who have challenged emergency health orders are responsible for promoting skepticism about the mitigation efforts, this which results in overwhelmed hospitals.
Karri Bartlett, COVID-19 chief of operations for Madison and Dane County Public Health, said in an interview last week that the county’s biggest concern right now is that hospitals are becoming more and more overwhelmed after Thanksgiving gatherings.
“I think the holidays are going to be big and bad because people want to be with family,” Bartlett said. “It will be difficult for the next few months.”
Patrick Marley and Molly Beck of Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
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