Health & Fitness
'Stay Home' Wisconsin Officials Urge Ahead Of July 4 Holiday
State health officials say Wisconsin has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases that's linked, in part, to going to bars.
MILWAUKEE, WI — "Stay home." That's what Wisconsin health officials are urging the public to do over the Fourth of July weekend as the state sees a surge in COVID-19 cases.
On Thursday, the Department of Health Services reported that Wisconsin has seen a recent surge in cases with half of all positive cases coming within the past five weeks. Nearly 20 percent of total COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin have tested positive within the past two weeks, they said.
"This spike in cases is driven in part by an increase in infections among younger people, and contact tracing by some local health departments has revealed that many of these cases can traced back to bars," DHS officials said.
Find out what's happening in Milwaukeefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Find out what's happening in Milwaukeefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
State officials said contact tracing, a part of Wisconsin’s response to the pandemic, has revealed that more positive cases have come from people who said they recently met up with people outside their household.
"While there were more confirmed COVID-19 cases during early May compared to early June, more than twice the percentage of cases reported attending a gathering or party or meeting up with people outside their homes within two weeks of getting COVID-19," DHS officials said.
Heath officials said one percent of positive cases over the last month reported attending a protest or rally during early June.
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