Health officials: Wisconsin in a 'dangerous place' in COVID-19 pandemic
"Wisconsin currently has the fourth worst rate of COVID positivity of any state," Dr. Ben Weston said
"Wisconsin currently has the fourth worst rate of COVID positivity of any state," Dr. Ben Weston said
"Wisconsin currently has the fourth worst rate of COVID positivity of any state," Dr. Ben Weston said
Health officials said Wisconsin is in a "dangerous place" when it comes to COVID-19.
Continuing Coverage: COVID-19 in Wisconsin
"This is a dangerous place for our state as well as our country. We're entering a long winter, a holiday season with poor trends and a new variant on the horizon," Weston said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said one in five new COVID-19 cases have been in kids.
"Wisconsin currently has the fourth-worst rate of COVID positivity of any state in the country," Milwaukee County's chief health policy advisor Dr. Ben Weston said.
Weston, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, said it's the spike in COVID-19 cases that's his biggest concern right now, not the new omicron variant.
"Even if omicron does not end up being as bad as predicted. We still have delta to deal with," Weston said.
In Milwaukee County, hospitalizations, cases and positivity are all growing, including the number of children getting COVID-19.
In addition to the child cases, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office there's been a COVID-19 outbreak at the Ovation Jewish Home at Curtis Place and Prospect Avenue including several deaths.
"We are in the middle of a delta wave with record cases and record hospitalizations in Wisconsin for all of 2021," Weston said.
For example, data from the Wisconsin Hospital Association shows there are no intensive care beds available in the entire western half of the state.
The climbing numbers led the Milwaukee Health Department to issue a new mask advisory Tuesday for everyone regardless of whether you're vaccinated.
"This advisory is to wear a mask at all times when indoors in a public setting," Milwaukee Commissioner Kirsten Johnson said.
So far, the omicron variant has not shown up in the Milwaukee area, but health officials expect it to soon.
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