La Crosse County in low CDC COVID category, state metrics still in high

COVID-19 activity locally and statewide continues to drop.

The CDC’s COVID 19 County Check shows La Crosse County at low as of Thursday, with masking not imperative. The CDC metric factors in the number of hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area. DHS analyzes total new cases and percent change for its rating.

In Wisconsin, coronavirus activity is rated high for the two-week period ending March 8. The state’s case burden was 139.4 per 100,000, with a 32% drop in trajectory. La Crosse County is also categorized at high, with a burden of 288.6 per 100,000 and no significant change in trajectory. No county is currently in critically high status.

The state as of Wednesday had a seven-day average of 408 new cases per day for a 3.2% positivity rate. A total of 12,210 deaths were confirmed as of Wednesday, including 169 in La Crosse County. Statewide, confirmed cases totaled 1,385,624, with 34,369 among La Crosse County residents.

Per DHS data, in December infections among the fully vaccinated were at a rate of 1,573.2 per 100,000, with hospitalizations 18.5 per 100,000 and deaths 3.6 per 100,000. For those unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, those rates were 4,746.4 per 100,000; 176.4 per 100,000; and 50.8 per 100,000, respectively. As of Wednesday January data had not yet been released, with DHS citing a technical issue.

The Wisconsin Hospital Association reported 345 current COVID-19 hospitalizations as of Wednesday, including 62 ICU patients. In the Western region, those numbers were 11 and zero, respectively. For the two-week period ending March 8, DHS reported shrinking in overall hospitalizations, including in Western Wisconsin. Statewide 44% of hospitals had their ICUS at peak capacity.

In Wisconsin, 60.5% of residents were fully vaccinated, and 32.9% boosted, as of March 9. For La Crosse County, the numbers were 68.8% and 38.9%, respectively.