MADISON (WKOW) -- Wisconsin reported no new deaths due to COVID-19 Friday offering a ray of good news amid the ongoing surge in new cases.
The Department of Health Services reported 17,456 new test results, of which 1,018--or 5.8 percent--came back positive, according to the numbers released today.
The remaining tests, 94.2 percent returned negative results. However, a negative test only means the person tested did not have the disease at the time. They could still contract COVID-19.
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, according to DHS.
The seven-day average is up to 916 new cases per day, from 822 a week ago.
DHS also listed no new deaths, for a total of 878 people (1.9 percent of positive cases) killed by the disease.
The state reported 54 new hospitalizations. Wisconsin hospitals are currently treating 312 patients with COVID-19. Of those, 60 people are in intensive care units.
The state reported 16,438 new negative test results.
Of all positive cases reported since the pandemic began, 36,333, or 77.5 percent, are considered recovered.
DHS now has a county-level dashboard to assess the COVID-19 activity level in counties and Healthcare Emergency Readiness Coalition regions that measure what DHS calls the burden in each county. View the dashboard HERE.
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