GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Wisconsin saw 1,460 new cases of COVID-19 today, and with that comes more hospitalizations. That coupled with the Delta variant makes health experts nervous for the next few months.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports that two weeks ago, there were 10 people in the hospital with COVID-19 in Northeast Wisconsin. As of Tuesday, that number is up to 42 people. The same is true for the Fox Valley, with 12 people hospitalized two weeks ago, and now 24. The 7-day average is up from 11 people to 18 people hospitalized.
In a media update on the status of COVID-19 in the state, DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said cases are up double from what we saw two weeks ago, and 11 times from what we saw one month ago. She and Governor Evers continue to urge the public to get vaccinated.
"If you are unvaccinated and exposed, it’s not a matter of if you’ll get it [COVID], it’s when,” Van Dijk said.
Locally, Bellin Health Emergency Physician Dr. Bradley Burmeister said hospitals continue to see a 40% increases in people admitted due to COVID-19. He said most cases come from those who are unvaccinated.
"You know, for people who own a business, a 40% increase in business might sound great," Dr. Burmeister said. "However, I think a lot of businesses will get into trouble because that's not a sustainable, great rate for most businesses to be able to keep up with that sort of demand.”
Burmeister said the data from experts estimates Wisconsin could hit its peak hospitalizations by September or October.
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"I think our trajectory has health professionals concerned at this point," Burmeister said. "This isn't something that we wanted to see. We weren't really thinking that this is going to be something that we were going to encounter again."
Van Dijk mentioned the state is not far behind the southern states that are considered "hot spots" for COVID-19.
"What we’re seeing happen in Florida could happen here," Van Dijk said. "Wisconsin has a similar vaccination rate to Florida, and COVID-19 cases are reaching an all time high in Florida, and their healthcare systems are overwhelmed.”
With children returning to school in the next few weeks and temperatures forcing people inside, experts are worried these numbers could go up even higher. Burmeister said the best thing we can do to prevent that is continue to wear masks, get vaccinated and stay flexible.
"The recommendations based off of the studies that are available are going to change with time," Burmeister said. "And what health care providers and public health officials recommend is going to change, you know, probably frequently."
