Wisconsin officials report 404 new COVID-19 cases, the smallest increase in more than a month

Matt Piper
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

In an abrupt departure from recent sobering trends, Wisconsin health officials reported fewer newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in Monday's update than they had in more than a month.

Of nearly 7,200 test results revealed Monday, 404 were positive, or 5.6%. The state had averaged 979 new cases per day over the previous four days, and the last time there were so few was June 29, when 315 positive tests were reported.

Of 55,328 Wisconsin residents to test positive since the pandemic began, 949 have died, including one more death counted by the Department of Health Services on Monday.

There were 345 COVID-19 patients in Wisconsin hospitals as of Monday afternoon, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association. Of those, 120 were in intensive care.

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DHS says that four in five COVID-19 patients have "recovered," meaning there is either documented proof that their symptoms have ended or they've been released from isolation, or that more than 30 days has passed since their diagnosis.

In rare cases, DHS notes, people require more than 30 days to recover, and even a "recovery" status may not indicate a return to full health. The long-term effects of the disease are unknown.

State reports of new test results, hospitalizations and deaths may lag because of reporting delays and other factors. 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.