COVID leveling off in Wisconsin just in time for the Summer?

COVID cases spent all of April and the first half of May climbing higher in our state. But ahead of the Memorial Day weekend (and the start of tourism season in Wisconsin), we are finally getting signs that this recent wave is cresting and receding.

On May 15, we hit a 7-day case average of 2,200 in the state. But now that number is down near 1,800, and going the right way.

COVID-related hospitalizations had also been on the rise in Wisconsin over recent weeks, but that may be leveling off as well.

The increased hospitalization was a main reason that the Centers for Disease Control said last week that 1 in 4 Wisconsin counties had high levels of COVID concerns, with masking recommended indoors in those places (not that I expect that advice to be necessarily followed).

Hopefully the number of counties in orange can start going down with the next CDC update, which drops on Friday. And despite the rise in cases and hospitalizations, deaths have remained low, as there hasn't been a week with more than 20 deaths since the start of April.

This indicates that vaccination and treatments really are making a difference in cutting down on severe outcomes at this point. Which means the COVID overhang in the economy is very small, despite the rise in cases.

So I'm glad to see some signs that our recent runup in COVID might be waning just as Summer starts to kick in. But keep being smart out there, especially if you're traveling, because you still don't want to get this, and lose a few days out of the few months we have warm weather and outside activites.