Milwaukee County COVID cases, hospitalizations up over Thanksgiving
MILWAUKEE - Milwauke County is seeing an uptick in both COVID-19 numbers and related hospitalizations.
Chief Health Policy Advisor for Milwaukee County Dr. Ben Weston posted on X on Monday, Nov. 27 that there has been a big jump in COVID-19 cases over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Weston said Milwaukee County is seeing its highest COVID-19 positivity rates in nearly two years – and highest hospitalizations in nearly one year. But Weston also noted it's too early to make a connection in COVID-19 numbers to the holiday.
His post noted that less than one-third of Milwaukee County residents 65+ years old have received the updated fall vaccine. He is urging everyone to reach out to family and friends.
"It’s not nearly enough for a population that is at such high risk of getting sick with COVID," Weston said. "Really, we need 100% of 65 and older to have gotten this COVID vaccine. And we’re not there yet."
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He said he is not worried as much about current case numbers as he is with the safety of at-risk individuals.
"We haven’t seen levels like that for a year," Weston said. "By no means do I think we’re going back to the beginning of omicron with overwhelmed hospitals or anything like that, but for folks who are vulnerable, folks who are immuno-compromised, people who are over 65 years old, this is something to take note of. "
The Hayat Pharmacy on Layton is seeing more positive COVID-19 tests too.
"For two or three weeks, there was a time when we didn’t get a single positive test, but in the last two weeks, we are getting about one or two positive tests a day," founder Hashim Zaibak said.
The county's percentage of positive tests has been trending up for the past four weeks from around 9% to about 20%.
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Zaibak said the rising numbers are leading more people to getting vaccinated, but the number of vaccinations could be higher.
"People sometimes get nervous anytime they hear a friend or coworker or relative who tests positive, then they start thinking about getting the vaccine, because people get busy," Zaibak said. "It’s not that they’re anti-vax or anything, they just get busy."
You can track COVID cases in Milwaukee County with its surveillance dashboard.