Subtle, Steady Rise Of COVID-19 In Wisconsin: Health Data

MILWAUKEE, WI — The rise of BA.2 in the Midwest and weakening immunity and protection measures could contribute to the subtle rises of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin, health experts said.

The coronavirus subvariant BA.2, sometimes called "stealth omicron," made up 83.7 percent of cases in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin on Friday, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed. This makes is the most common COVID-19 subvariant in the Midwest right now.

Cases across Wisconsin are slowly going up: There were 798 new confirmed cases on Tuesday, data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services showed. The seven-day average was 673 cases per day.

In late March and early April, cases hovered between 300-600 per day before a spike of over 1,500 on April 7.

The steady increase of cases are a likely result of BA.2's dominance, less protection strategies and waning immunity, Milwaukee's chief health adviser Dr. Ben Weston said in a statement.

"This is the tipping point where we should expect to see any substantial impact from this variant," Weston said of BA.2's presence in the Midwest.