COVID-19 Wisconsin
Data show children are an increasing share of COVID-19 patients
In keeping with other parts of the country, COVID-19 is affecting a growing number of younger children in Wisconsin. “The proportion of total cases in Milwaukee County that are comprised of kids under the age of 18 has been increasing,” said Darren Rausch, the health director for the Milwaukee suburb of Greenfield, at a Milwaukee […]
Local, tribal health agencies to get $58.4M for COVID-19 response efforts
Local and tribal health departments will share in $58.4 million awarded from Wisconsin’s share of the federal American Rescue Plan Act to help them absorb the added costs brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Tony Evers announced the public health funding program Monday morning. Each department’s share will include a base amount and an […]
Deaths increase, hospitals fill up as new COVID-19 surge continues across Wisconsin
A week into September and a new school year, the COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin is continuing to dig in. Every indicator of the spread of the coronavirus, still driven by the more virulent delta variant, is up, according to state and local public health agencies, continuing a new surge of infections that began in July […]
Pandemic’s return adds new pressure on child care, working families
As COVID-19 infections in Wisconsin have once again been rising dramatically, the resurgent pandemic has put new pressure on child care providers and the parents who are counting on them. Across the state, providers strapped for staff have had to cut back on how many children they can take. Some report that their current strain […]
New data show the cost of forgoing the COVID-19 shot
Wisconsinites who weren’t fully vaccinated for the coronavirus were nearly three times as likely to get infected in July as fully vaccinated people, according to new state health data released Thursday. And those who were less than fully vaccinated were nearly four times as likely to need hospital care and more than 10 times as […]
Dane County issues new mask requirement as COVID-19 climbs again
With local COVID-19 cases continuing to spread, Madison and Dane County officials announced a new mask mandate Tuesday aimed at curbing transmission of the coronavirus while urging people who haven’t yet been vaccinated to do so. The new order takes effect Thursday and will last for 28 days, said Janel Heinrich, director of Public Health […]
Mask, vaccine mandates get support, but mostly will be up to private sector
As the COVID-19 delta variant continues to spread, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers expressed support Thursday for schools, hospitals and businesses that institute mask mandates or require vaccines. During a briefing for reporters held online, Evers also said his administration would decide within a week whether it will require state employees to be vaccinated for the […]
Cases, hospitalizations continue to increase with COVID-19
Wisconsin hospitals are once again filling up with COVID-19 patients as the new surge in the pandemic continues, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant of the coronavirus. New cases each day are increasing, reaching levels last seen in February, the state Department of Health Services (DHS) reported Wednesday. And coronavirus activity — which DHS assesses […]
New COVID-19 surge brings vaccine mandates as masks return
As the resurgence of COVID-19 continues, driven by the especially contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, masks are coming back, and vaccine mandates are cropping up. A growing number of employers, primarily in health care and related fields, have announced they will require employees to be vaccinated or subject them to frequent tests for the […]
COVID-19 rises again as rapidly spreading Delta mutation takes hold
Wisconsin’s daily count of new COVID-19 cases has nearly tripled in the last two weeks, and for state health officials, that trend added urgency Thursday to their longstanding plea for more people to get vaccinated. The state’s seven-day average of confirmed cases Thursday was 242 cases per day, said Julie Willems Van Dijk, deputy secretary […]
State’s struggling timber industry to get pandemic relief money
Wisconsin loggers and timber haulers could share in a federal pandemic relief fund of up to $200 million that was announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled the Pandemic Assistance for Timber Harvesters and Haulers (PATHH) program in a conference call Tuesday with Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and […]
The pandemic has gotten better. It’s still not over.
Sixteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic Wisconsin’s rates of infection, hospitalization and death are continuing to decline, half of the people in the state who are eligible have had at least one shot of the vaccine and increasingly the world is looking like it’s getting back to normal. It isn’t. COVID-19 hasn’t gone away — […]