Daily COVID-19 Cases High: Where Oak Creek Can Get Tested
OAK CREEK, WI — Over 66 percent of Oak Creek is fully vaccinated against coronavirus, and more than 70 percent of the city has recieved at least one dose of the vaccine. New COVID-19 case averages are reaching levels the city previously saw in November of 2020, according to Oak Creek Health Department data updated Monday.
The department logged one death from Dec. 20, and between Dec. 14 to Dec. 28, there were 271 new positive cases. On Tuesday, the department posted on Facebook it is "currently receiving an incredibly high number of positive COVID-19 cases daily," and that it may not be able to follow up with everyone who tests positive.
As of Monday, the 7-day new case average was 55.3. On Dec. 31, it was 66.3. Just about two weeks prior, the case average was at 13.7, the City of Oak Creek COVID-19 status dashboard shows. The city's case burden remains at critical.
Here's what the department said to do if you test positive:
Stay at home and isolate for at least five days.
"If your symptoms are resolving after five days or you are asymptomatic, you can leave your home but you must wear a mask for another five days."
If your symptoms do not begin to resolve after five days, stay home until they do. Wear a mask when you leave your home for at least 10 days.
Children who test positive should isolate for a full 10 days. Students at schools that require masks may be eligible for a shortened isolation period.
South Shore Testing Clinic
Reditus Laboratories opened a mobile COVID-19 testing site at 6077 S. Packard Avenue in Cudahy, according to a news release from the city.
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Saturdays 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
The clinic provides rapid antigen and PCR testing, and pre-registration is required.
Register for the clinic online.
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The new data come as Wisconsin hospital bed use is nearly reaching levels seen last in November of 2020. 635 Milwaukee County residents were hospitalized as of Monday.
The number of hospitalizations set a new pandemic record and represented a nearly 50 percent increase from the previous week, said Dr. Ben Weston, an associate professor at Froedtert Medical College of Wisconsin and the city of Milwaukee's health adviser.
Weston encouraged people to get vaccinated, adding that unvaccinated people will get sicker when infected.
"There are exceptions. Yes, most people do OK. Yes, I see a select population. But the trends are real," Weston said. "They're real in emergency departments and real nationally. The vaccine protects you" from infection, symptoms, hospitalizations and death, he said.
This article originally appeared on the Oak Creek Patch
