On Tuesday, Wisconsin met five of the six criteria laid out in the Badger Bounce Back plan that health officials will monitor to determine when to reopen the state.
The only benchmark not met was a two-week downward trajectory in influenza-like illnesses. That metric has improved slightly in recent days.
Wisconsin displayed the lowest percentage yet of positive COVID-19 tests Tuesday since the Department of Health Services began sharing the figure several weeks ago.
The Department of Health Services reported 4,908 new test results, of which 193--or 3.9 percent--came back positive. As a percentage of total tests, this is a decrease from Monday and the lowest since at least the end of April.
Health officials and Gov. Tony Evers had said they would monitor the percentage of new tests that return positive to determine when the state can reopen as part of the Badger Bounce Back plan. Fourteen days of a trending decline were needed to reopen the state. Wisconsin met this requirement on Monday.
Measuring the percentage of new cases returned in tests each day helps differentiate if increases in cases are due to greater spread or more testing.
The number of people infected by the coronavirus since the outbreak began, according to the Department of Health Services, is 10,611.