111 Now Dead Of Coronavirus In Wisconsin; 2,885 Confirmed Cases

MILWAUKEE, WI — Wisconsin has eclipsed 100 coronavirus-related deaths as of Thursday, based on data released by state health officials.

On Thursday, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said the state has seen a total of 111 people die as a result of COVID-19. State officials said they've seen a total of 2,885 confirmed cases in Wisconsin, with 31,424 negative test results.

Of the 2,885 confirmed cases, state officials say 843 required hospitalizations, with many others managing the effects of the virus in self-quarantine situations across Wisconsin.

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Officials Concerned About Election's Impact

On Tuesday, thousands of voters participated in the spring presidential primary and statewide election, risking their own exposure to the virus. Department of Health officials said they and local officials are monitoring this situation and expect to see any cases from exposure on April 7 begin to appear next week.

People who have tested positive for COVID-19 are interviewed by local public health officials about exposures, which includes possible exposures at the polls. "This information will allow our surveillance epidemiologists the opportunity to identify if the election had any impact on the spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin; however, DHS will not have a full picture of the impact for several weeks as it does take some time for people to develop symptoms," officlas said this week.

Over the the last few weeks, state health officials have added more than 120 contact tracers to aid local public health departments who need additional capacity to interview every person confirmed with COVID-19 about anyone they had been in contact with and notify those people. Contact tracers are detectives, of sorts. Their job is to connect any person infected with the virus to where they may have contracted it.

“Contact tracing is a critical tool in our ability to effectively manage COVID-19 now and moving forward," Secretary-Andrea Palm, of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, said. "We will continue this important work to ensure that every case is followed up on, contacted, and anyone who may have been exposed notified. We hope the extraordinary efforts taken by local clerks, public health, voters, and poll workers helped minimize any transmission but we stand prepared to respond if that isn’t the case."

Easter Weekend Coming, Services Affected

Religious groups can host services if their members stay in cars parked in parking lots, or have small gatherings of 10 or fewer people under Wisconsin's "safer at home" order, Gov. Tony Evers said as the state heads into Easter weekend and the continuation of Passover.

The governor said Thursday that religious organizations and places of worship have asked about the chance to continue offering faith-based services and gatherings while still complying with the governor’s “safer at home” order.

As a result, churches and religious groups wanting to hold services while still complying with the governor’s order may do the following, under state law:

• Parking lots with congregants staying in cars, avoiding person-to-person contact.
• Streaming online.
• Having small gatherings - fewer than 10 people in each room - with multiple services.

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