COVID update - going the wrong way

I know mask and capacity restrictions are basically gone in Wisconsin, outside of a few school districts. But COVID refuses to go away in these parts, as illustrated by the giant leap in the average number of cases this week.

Your #COVID19_WI update, and a reminder. It takes a layered strategy to #StopTheSpread. Stay up to date with vaccinations, get tested, and stay home when sick. We all play a part in making sure our communities are healthy: https://t.co/RMFK9qifWu pic.twitter.com/D0g6avMGIc

— WIDeptHealthServices (@DHSWI) May 3, 2022

Today's #COVID19_WI update. Please – if you haven't already – get a vaccine or booster, and continue to follow public health guidance.
➡️ #YouStopTheSpread: https://t.co/RMFK9qifWu
➡️ Find vaccine near you: https://t.co/aFxRHDpfVH pic.twitter.com/SJJhVujBla

— WIDeptHealthServices (@DHSWI) May 4, 2022

I was hoping that the jump in new cases reported on Wednesday was due to a backlog of data being entered at once, as it included more than 2,400 new cases, which well above any day we had seen since the original Omicron surge faded away 3 months ago. But it was followed up by this report from Thursday.

Today's #COVID19_WI update, and a reminder. If you have symptoms or have been in close contact with someone sick with #COVID19, you should get tested. You can even do it from home. Learn how: https://t.co/io8Viooxzk pic.twitter.com/Zcbpw2JvE5

— WIDeptHealthServices (@DHSWI) May 5, 2022

The average of new cases jumping by another 100 on Thursday is due to a second straight day of more than 2,000 new cases. ARGGGHH!

And Friday continued the bad trend. Note the increase in counties with "medium" severity of COVID.

Today's #COVID19_WI update, and a reminder. If you are making #weekend plans, check the #COVID19 Community Level where you are or may be going to make healthy choices for yourself, your loved ones, and your community: https://t.co/mAVfWJMI4M pic.twitter.com/pVxqWQuUGm

— WIDeptHealthServices (@DHSWI) May 6, 2022

I also think this is a real resurgence after looking at the number of new cases reported on each of the last 6 Wednesdays. That time frame starts when COVID cases were near its post-Omicron lows back in March, and the trend is clear.

3/30 474
4/6 428
4/13 843
4/20 1,334
4/27 1,668
5/4 2,058

While the rate of increase is slowing a bit, cases are still going up, and that’s not what you want to see.

The other concerning item that came this week is an increase in reported deaths, after they had been at rock-bottom throughout April.

According to the state DHS, 36 confirmed deaths occurred this week, an increase of 25 deaths from the previous week.

Hospitalizations continued to increase throughout the week as well. Roughly 257 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19, up 133 patients from a month ago, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

That being said, the "big jump" in deaths is actually DHS catching up on past weeks, as only 2 deaths have been attributed to COVID so far in May, and while it's not as low as we thought a week ago, April's deaths were still at multi-month lows.

Still, the rise in cases in both Wisconsin and the US is something we should stay aware of. Sure, the warm weather of next week will probably help things, but we need to see new cases going down, and for a few weeks, before we can say things are back in the calmer spot we thought we had settled into in March.

Hopefully the overdue arrival of warm weather can help to turn back the rising amount of COVID in Wisconsin before we have to bring back other restrictions around the state. But we likely should raise our awareness again and possibly manage our risks until we can get these cases back down into triple digits. No one wants to see restrictions put back in, but if these cases aren't tamped down by Memorial Day and traditional Summer vacationing, it might have real effects on what people decide to do.