April 8: Weekly Driftless Region COVID-19 update
Editors note: this story is updated as of Tuesday, April 6, in the COVID variants section to reflect growth in numbers.
Over the past week COVID-19, diagnoses statewide increased from 576,044 on Monday, Mar. 29 to 576,044 on Monday, Apr. 5. That is a statewide increase of 4,140 cases. The number of deaths increased from 6,601 to 6,640, an additional 39 deaths, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS).
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has updated the Staying Safe in Your Community webpage to include recommendations for both fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people. The webpage now includes guidance for a variety of spring and summer activities, as well as guidelines for attending or hosting gatherings.
COVID variants
As of Tuesday, March 30, there are 12,053 cases of the three COVID-19 variants in the United States, up 4,272 over the past week. Those are the United Kindom (B.1.1.7), South African (B.1.3.5.1), and Brazil (P.1) variants.
Sixteen states now have all three variants circulating in their populations. Those states are Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Florida, California, Massachussetts, Georgia, Maryland, Texas, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington, Indiana and Maine.
There are 11,569 cases of the United Kingdom variant in 51 states and territories, an increase of 4,068 cases. As of Tuesday, Mar. 30, there are 78 confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in Wisconsin. There are 218 confirmed cases in Illinois, 526 confirmed cases in Minnesota, 1,237 confirmed cases in Michigan, and 89 confirmed cases in Iowa. Michigan remains second in the nation for UK variant cases in the last week, exceeded only by Florida with 2,351 cases.
21 LANSING, Mich. During the first 90 days of 2021, the Michigan National Guard (MING) has supported communities throughout the state and administered more than 323,000 COVID-19 vaccinations in the fight against the virus.
Working with state partners, the MING received a request from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to support community healthcare organizations with logistical and medical assets for COVID-19 vaccinations across the state.
“During Michigan’s COVID-19 response, MDHHS is ensuring medical facilities have access to the COVID-19 vaccines to safeguard our residents,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health, MDHHS. “The partnership between MDHHS and the Michigan National Guard has been vital to the success of the vaccine distribution and plays a significant role in the success of our mission.”
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