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MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Health officials are warning residents of Wisconsin to get vaccinated, wear masks and avoid indoor gatherings over Labor Day weekend because the variant delta brings the state’s average COVID-19 cases to levels not seen in months.
Wisconsin’s seven-day case average stood at 1,699 Wednesday, the highest average since Jan. 15, when it stood at 1,990 cases, the State Department of Health Services reported. . COVID-19-related hospitalizations have also increased since early July. The Wisconsin Hospital Association reported 934 inpatients on Tuesday, the highest number since February.
“We are at the start or somewhere in the middle of the second great wave of COVID cases in Wisconsin,” State epidemiologist Ryan Westergaard told reporters on a conference call Wednesday afternoon. “He could approach last fall. The slope is still rising. Now is the time to refocus on this. Let’s use all the tools we can to make our activities, our gatherings as safe as possible. “
Most patients are not vaccinated. DHS estimates the case rate to be around 370 per 100,000 people who are not fully vaccinated, compared to 125 cases per 100,000 people who are.
Wisconsin, like most of the rest of the country, saw a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases and deaths last fall before the vaccines were introduced. The numbers fell dramatically earlier this summer as more people were vaccinated. However, the tables turned in July, when the most contagious delta variant of the coronavirus began to spread across the state.
Hospital association executive director Eric Borgerding said COVID-19 treatments have improved since last fall and fewer people are dying. The seven-day average of deaths stood at six on Tuesday, state data showed. The seven-day average of deaths hovered around 25 in January.
But Borgerding said hospital workers who battled the wave last November have burned out and quit their jobs rather than face another influx of patients. Almost all of the association’s member hospitals have turned to employment agencies to provide them with temporary workers, he said.
“(The shortage of manpower) is an obvious problem”, said Borgerding. “It was bad in the fall. It’s worse today. Fall has really tested the resilience of our workforce and here we are again. We have a fantastic health care system in Wisconsin, but the resilience is not endless. It’s a factor in all of this that people need to understand.
State health officials have urged people to get vaccinated, wear masks indoors everywhere and celebrate Labor Day with outdoor activities. Just over 51% of the state’s eligible population had completed their shots on Tuesday.
“Truly,” Westergaard said, “Vaccination is the most powerful tool we have.”
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