MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin has recorded its highest one-day total of new COVID-19 deaths and the first patient was admitted to a field hospital near Milwaukee that opened last week to help hospitals coping with the influx of patients.
The surge that began in early September showed no signs of slowing with 48 new deaths reported Wednesday and a whopping 43% of those tested coming back as positive.
There have been 1,681 deaths to date from the coronavirus pandemic while nearly 183,000 people have tested positive, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported. That is up by 4,205 from the day before, although department spokeswoman Jennifer Miller said there was still some backlog in the reporting of positive cases following a data upgrade over the weekend.
The seven-day average of new confirmed cases also reached a new record high of 3,444, which is nearly double what it was a month ago and nearly five times what it was two months ago.
On Wednesday, the state reported its first patient to the field hospital on the state fairgrounds in West Allis outside of Milwaukee. The state health department declined to reveal any details about the patient, citing privacy concerns.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— Spain reaches 1 million cases of coronavirus
— North Dakota Republican governor calls National Guard to help with test results
— CDC redefines coronavirus close contact, adds brief encounters
— Next up in hunt for COVID-19 vaccine: Testing shots in kids. Pfizer received permission last week to test its vaccine in U.S. kids as young as 12.
— Boston schools will switch to all-remote learning in response to rising coronavirus cases in the city.
— Brazil President overrules own health minister, rejecting purchase of 46 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine tested in Sao Paulo state.
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Follow all of AP’s coronavirus pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
ROME — The Italian region of Lazio, which includes Rome, is imposing an overnight curfew to combat surging coronavirus infections.
Lazio’s Gov. Nicola Zingaretti, who was ill with COVID-19 early in the pandemic, signed an ordinance Wednesday. Starting at midnight Friday and for the next 30 days, people in Lazio won’t be allowed to leave their homes from midnight to 5 a.m. daily, except to go to or return from work or other urgent reasons such as health issues.
Earlier on Friday, Premier Giuseppe Conte, briefing senators, appealed to Italians to “limit” what he called “unnecessary” moving from place to place as well as “superfluous actions,” which he didn’t define. With Conte’s center-left central government so far avoiding any unpopular return to Italy’s severe lockdown earlier this year, regional leaders have been scrambling in recent days to devise their own strategy.
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PHOENIX — An Arizona State University researcher says Arizona is seeing a surge in coronavirus cases that resembles the early stages of the summer spike that made the state one of the world’s worst hotspots.
Dr. Joshua LaBaer of the ASU Biodesign Institute said Wednesday the latest spike can be attributed to fatigue with masks and social distancing. He says holding strong on mitigation efforts can limit the spread of the disease.
Arizona on Wednesday reported 975 new confirmed coronavirus cases and another 17 deaths. Hospitals reported 832 beds used by COVID-19 patients, the highest number since late August but well below the peak of about 3,500 in July.
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HONOLULU — Honolulu police have issued warnings or citations to thousands of people in violation of coronavirus protocols since Hawaii launched a pre-arrival testing program to reopen to tourists.
The Honolulu Police Department says officers issued 4,500 warnings and 470 citations for not wearing masks or failing to social distance since the launch of the traveler testing program Thursday.
Police say they do not separate visitors and residents on their list of citations and warnings. Officers also arrested several people for violations of the city’s emergency orders. Supporters of reopening say tourists pose fewer risks than large gatherings of residents.
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TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and the first lady tested negative for coronavirus on Wednesday, just hours after he abruptly left an event.
The Democrat was speaking at a workforce development event his office organized with Democratic Rep. Donald Norcross at Camden County College when he learned a recent contact had tested positive.
The 63-year-old governor say he has no symptoms and last tested negative on Monday. Murphy spokesperson Mahen Gunaratna says Tammy Murphy also tested negative on Wednesday…