Sen.Nass - E-Update
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July 2, 2020

Covid-19 in Wisconsin – As of July 1, 2020

In recent days, some in the media have been hyping a “surge” in Covid-19 cases in this state.  However, those advancing a gloom-and-doom scenario are intentionally ignoring the full picture of what the actual data tells us about the trends in Wisconsin.  Based on data collected daily by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Wisconsin Hospitals Association (WHA), the situation is far more positive than most people would expect if you only relied on the media presentation.

Thank you to the MacIver Institute for use of their charts documenting the data collected by DHS and WHA.

 

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The total number of daily new Covid-19 cases has actually been very consistent and continues in a range that we have seen since live testing in Wisconsin increased dramatically in late April.  Since early June, about 45%-50% of the daily new cases have come from just three counties: Milwaukee, Dane and Brown.

The rest of Wisconsin counties have seen a very low caseload and few people requiring hospital intervention in their cases.

Also, in the last two weeks more than 50% of the new daily cases have come from individuals in the 20-29 age category.  The good news about this age group is that very few have required hospitalization and most have suffered either no symptoms or minimal symptoms.

 

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The percentage of daily positive tests has been very consistent with the overall increases in the state’s testing capabilities.  While the last two weeks have seen a slight increase in the daily percentage of positive tests, this has been driven solely by the increases in the 20-29 age group.

We have not seen significant increases in other age groups and this is a very positive development when looking for community spread.

 

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Wisconsin has approximately 11,500 total hospital beds available for use by patients.  As of July 1st, there were only 237 total Covid-19 patients in Wisconsin hospitals.  There are 5.7 million people in Wisconsin.  Of these patients on July 1st, there were only 77 in ICU and the number of daily ICU patients has been steadily declining since April.

The highest total of daily Covid-19 patients occurred in April with 432 people being hospitalized.  It is an undeniable fact that Wisconsin hospitals have never been overrun by Covid-19 patients.  Wisconsin’s ICU capabilities were never in jeopardy and patients have had access to the medical equipment necessary in the treatment of Covid-19. 

 

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As of July 1st, of the 5.7 million people in this state only 29,199 have officially tested positive for the virus since March and unfortunately 786 total deaths have been attributed to the disease.  Of the 786 deaths in the state, about 71% were from individuals, age 70 or higher.

However, the constantly improving therapies and treatments have steadily lowered the death rate due to Covid-19 and nationally we are at the lowest death rate since the crisis started earlier this year.

Recently the CDC and other researchers have estimated that the number of actual cases of Covid-19 is much higher when you include the estimated number of people that had it but never sought testing.  The estimated number of untested Covid-19 cases is a factor of 10x to 18x higher than the tested positives.  In Wisconsin, that means we have seen a projected total (both tested and untested) cases of 291,990 to 525,582.  This also indicates the rate of death and infectious nature of Covid-19 is much lower than the numbers used by public health “experts” to develop the horribly flawed models used to shut down our society earlier this year.

 

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The bottom line is that the people of Wisconsin are dealing with a virus that is with us permanently and will be a significant factor in our daily lives through at least 2021.  There are only slim chances of a vaccine being discovered that fully prevents infection in humans of Covid-19.  There is a greater probability of a vaccine(s) being developed that provides some benefits of immunity and lessening symptoms, but even this possibility is relatively low when looking at the efforts in developing a vaccine to fight other Covid viruses.

Since March, a total of 580,806 total Covid-19 live tests have been processed in Wisconsin with 551,607 having come back as negative for Covid-19.  All of these negative tests are a good sign that many people that feared being exposed to Covid-19 actually were not and often meant their symptoms were attributable to other common viruses.

Finally, we must fight the fear mongering by some government officials desiring excessive public health mandates and unnecessary restrictions of your constitutional rights.  Based on the actual Covid-19 data and current trends in Wisconsin, I don’t support government mandating the use of face masks or the closure of businesses. 

I am confident the people of Wisconsin can make reasonable decisions for themselves in adapting to the risks presented by a virus that is with us permanently.  The overwhelming majority of businesses in Wisconsin have been operating prudently and voluntarily implementing appropriate safety measures. 

I believe government officials should focus on cooperative approaches with the public and refrain from excessive government mandates certain to create a backlash from the citizens of Wisconsin.