12K COVID-19 Deaths In Wisconsin As Pandemic Nears 2 Year Mark

WISCONSIN — As the second anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a pandemic approaches, Wisconsin counts 12,000 deaths due to the disease as of last month, state health services data show.

The spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11. The first case in the United States was found Jan. 19, 2020, according to a study from The New England Journal of Medicine.

Wisconsin found its first case Feb. 5, 2020, data from the Department of Health Services showed. Since then, 12,057 Wisconsinites have died, state health services data showed as of Wednesday.

Most Wisconsin counties have "low" disease transmission, new maps from the Centers for Disease Control showed. The agency introduced new county-level guidance and loosened masking standards Feb. 25.

"It means that we have achieved a relatively low number of cases and hospital needs for COVID," Dr. Ben Weston, Milwaukee's chief health adviser, said in a statement. Many people should remain cautious while cases trend lower, he added.

Milwaukee and Waukesha counties are considered low transmission by the new maps, and mask requirements in cities like Madison, Milwaukee and Racine have ended.

There have been two large surges in cases, deaths and hospitalizations in Wisconsin since February 2020. The first surge was in November 2020 and the second was in January 2022, according to state health data.

January 2022 saw the highest number of COVID-19 cases so far: There were 38,369 new positive COVID-19 tests across Wisconsin Jan. 16.

On Wednesday, state health officials confirmed 517 new cases of COVID-19. The seven-day average was 570 new cases per day.

While masking requirements have been loosened, the pandemic hasn't ended for children who are too young to be vaccinated, people who are immunocompromised or those with vulnerable family members, Weston said.

"Respect and be kind to those around you who may choose a different level of caution in this time of low disease burden," he said. "And we can all hope that our trends continue and our community stays safe."

This article originally appeared on the Milwaukee Patch