DHS: 25% of Wisconsin COVID-19 patients have been hospitalized

MADISON -- One-quarter of Wisconsin’s confirmed COVID-19 patients have been hospitalized, based on new data reported by the state Department of Health Services for the first time Wednesday, April 1.

The state had not reported any numbers on hospitalizations before Wednesday. The move came amid growing criticism from Republican lawmakers, and questions from reporters, about why the numbers were not included along with deaths and confirmed cases.

The figures posted Wednesday show that of the state’s 1,351 confirmed cases, 337 had been in the hospital. That is 25%. It is not immediately clear how many remain hospitalized.

There are about 11,000 hospital beds in the state, which hospital leaders have said are typically about 58% full.

The state did not report how many hospital beds were still open or how many of the COVID-19 patients were in intensive care units. Wisconsin has about 2,600 ICU beds.

The state reported 16 deaths, but local health departments had the figure at 27. That data sometimes lags behind state totals, which are updated daily.

A majority of other states have been reporting hospitalizations. Earlier Wednesday, Republican legislative leaders criticized Gov. Tony Evers’ administration for not making the data available.

State health leaders had been saying prior to Wednesday that they were working on reporting the numbers as soon as possible.