Here's what COVID-19 trends Sheboygan County health officials expect heading into summer
Correction: This story previously misstated the confirmed number of deaths by age group.
SHEBOYGAN - After the omicron surge peaked in mid-January, COVID-19 cases in Sheboygan County dropped to the lowest levels the county has seen in a long time, Health Officer Starrlene Grossman said.
Since then, case numbers have been slightly increasing but hospitalizations remain low. Health officials are “cautiously optimistic” that case numbers will remain low this summer, Grossman said.
“We’re hoping that’s the trend we see this summer, but COVID continually surprises us,” she said. “We’ve seen a lot of ups and downs over the last few years, and as new variants emerge, it’s difficult to predict sometimes how the variants will impact our community and what their severity will be.”
Sheboygan County has been at a “Low” COVID-19 community level since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention introduced the classification in late February.
The community levels classification mainly focuses on the burden of COVID-19 on hospital systems.
That’s because nationwide, with high levels of population immunity from both vaccination and infections, the risk of medically significant disease, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 is greatly reduced for most people, Grossman said.
More: Why Dr. Fauci is saying the US is 'out of the pandemic phase' of COVID-19
By the numbers: COVID-19 trends in Sheboygan County
Cases
In late April and early May, the county has been averaging about 20 confirmed new COVID-19 cases per day, down from a peak of about 360 cases per day in January but up from a low of about two cases per day in mid to late March, Grossman said.
The seven-day average number of daily positive confirmed cases was lower at this point last year, remaining less than 8.5 average daily cases for the month of May 2021.
Hospitalizations
Hospitalizations, which were very high in January, have remained low even as the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has started to increase, Grossman said.
Throughout April, an average of slightly more than one person has been hospitalized with COVID-19 per day within Sheboygan County hospital systems, down from a peak of 49 people hospitalized per day in January, Grossman said.
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 32,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Sheboygan County and more than 1,200 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been hospitalized — about 4.1% of cases.
Deaths
267 people have died with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county, including two people under age 30, according to the Sheboygan County COVID-19 dashboard.
41 of those deaths occurred in 2022, according to the dashboard — mostly in January and February. Five people have died with confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of March, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Why are some people still masking? Here’s what’s recommended to stay safe.
At a “Low” community level, people should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, which offer the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization, Grossman said.
“One of the most positive things we’ve seen over the last year is that having access to the vaccine has really provided a path out of this pandemic for our community,” Grossman said.
63% of Sheboygan County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and about one-third have received the full series with an additional dose or booster.
It’s also still important to stay home if you’re ill, get tested if you’ve been exposed to COVID-19 or are displaying symptoms, and follow CDC recommendations for isolation and quarantine.
Masking indoors is not a community-wide recommendation at a “Low” or “Medium” community level, but some people continue to wear masks.
That may include people at higher risk, who are immunocompromised or living with someone who is immunocompromised, who have kids at home unable to be vaccinated yet, or many different things, Grossman said.
“We want to encourage people to think through things they can do to protect themselves and their family,” she said. “Masking continues to be a tool in our toolbox to prevent spread and protect, particularly, our most vulnerable community members.”
Health officials stress that medically vulnerable people should have a plan if they do become ill, such as a plan for rapid testing.
People who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease should also talk to their doctor to see if they should wear a mask and if they would be eligible for COVID-19 treatments.
Reach Maya Hilty at 920-400-7485 or MHilty@sheboygan.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @maya_hilty.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan County COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations reach a low in March
