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Wisconsin health officials on Wednesday announced a new “extremely high” category for activity in coronavirus cases amid an alarming increase in cases.
Case activity combines the burden and trajectory of cases, according to state health officials, and all but seven counties in Wisconsin were in the “high critical” category Thursday morning.
“Far too many of our communities are in dire straits,” Julie Willems Van Dijk, assistant secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, said in a press release. “To put this new data into perspective, Wisconsin now has more average cases per day than New York City at the height of its surge last spring.”
Indeed, as of Wednesday, Wisconsin reported more than 7,000 new cases daily; as New York City recorded a high of more than 6,300 reported cases in early April.
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The health department said the activity level of Wisconsin cases had been “extremely high” since October 28; the state has crossed the “extremely high” threshold of 1,000 cases per 100,000 people to 1,311 cases, according to the data. Health officials said the new category was also intended to help local authorities make decisions to combat the virus.
Van Dijk said public health officials could no longer keep up with contact tracing amid the surge in cases, which is a tactic used to disrupt the chain of spread of the virus. In late October, North Dakota health officials asked residents to conduct their own contact tracing, as an increase in virus cases has left contact tracers in the state overwhelmed and strapped for resources. The Midwest has been hit particularly hard, although cases are increasing in 49 states, the Associated Press reported.
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News of Wisconsin’s new “critical” category comes just a day after Mayo Clinic Health System hospitals in the northwestern region of the state reached 100% capacity, local media outlet WQOW reported.
“The public urgently needs to treat COVID-19 as the health emergency it represents to prevent the health system from being overwhelmed. We call on everyone to wear a mask and follow all public health guidelines to limit the spread of this disease, “hospital officials said in a statement.
“By helping people see the extremely high level of disease in their counties and regions, we hope these data improvements will help people make important decisions about staying at home to stop the spread of COVID-19.” , added Van Dijk.
Madeline Farber of Fox News contributed to this report.
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