141 hospitalized with COVID-19 as thousands of new cases confirmed in Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. — Another 141 Wisconsinites have been hospitalized with the coronavirus since Tuesday afternoon, according to the state Department of Health Services.

That’s an increase of over 30 compared to the previous day’s 108 hospitalizations. With 11,452 hospital beds throughout the state, DHS officials said 16% remain available for new patients.

At least 1,419 people in Wisconsin have died due to COVID-19 complications, with 18 more deaths confirmed Wednesday.

The seven-day average positivity rate for tests by person is at 16.9%, while the percentage accounting for total tests by day is still at 9%.

Gov. Tony Evers has since announced the opening of a field hospital at the state fairgrounds in West Allis as rising COVID-19 cases cause an increase in hospital capacity.

Dane County has also seen a surge in hospitalizations, with 59 being treated for the disease as of Wednesday afternoon. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said 16 of those patients were in intensive care.

State and county health officials recorded 2,424* new cases Wednesday, which brings the state’s all-time total to 139,344*. DHS officials said 25,500 of those remain active.

According to DHS data, all of Wisconsin’s 72 counties have either high or very high activity levels for disease spread.

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*News 3 Now uses data from DHS and county dashboards to calculate daily cases and deaths. DHS posts new numbers daily at 2 p.m., and our newsroom continues to update our totals throughout the day with additional cases that individual counties report. By using a combination of state and county data, News 3 Now is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive and up-to-date COVID-19 coverage.