Wisconsin tops 500 in number of deaths due to COVID-19
FILE - This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. On Tuesday, April 21, 2020, U.S. health regulators OK'd the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states. The sample will still have to be shipped for processing back to LabCorp, which operates diagnostic labs throughout the U.S.[NIAID-RML via AP]
Wisconsin has gone over 500 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus, according to state Department of Health Services figures released Saturday.
The report showed 481 new COVID-19 cases, for a total of 14,877, and an additional 11 deaths, for a total of 507. Two news deaths were reported in Milwaukee County, increasing the county’s total to 251.
The updated numbers followed two consecutive days of a record tests, which have nearly quadrupled on a daily basis from two weeks ago. The state on Friday reported nearly 9,500 tests, with more than 500 positive cases of the coronavirus.
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State officials are urging residents to maintain social distancing and other safety measures during the holiday weekend. The Department of Natural Resources announced that while state parks will resume normal hours this weekend, visitors won’t have access to bathrooms until early next month.
The parks have been operating with reduced daily hours and have been closed completely on Wednesdays as the state grapples with the pandemic.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.