Milwaukee Health Dept. sees 'statistically significant decline' in COVID-19 cases, positivity rate down

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) released on Friday, Aug. 28 its update on Phase 4.1 of the public health and safety order called "Moving Milwaukee Forward" related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Friday marks the 28th day of Phase 4.1 -- and officials revealed there has been a statistically significant decline in COVID-19 cases [-0.19, P-value of 0.001 (95% CI: -0.28, -0.10)] and the positivity rate is down to 5%. Officials say this is important because they have not had a statistically significant increase/decrease since the week of July 2nd.

Even with this positive news, officials say they will need to hold in Phase 4.1 to make sure that the city is on the right track. They will reassess the progress next week, Sept. 4.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Thursday discussed where things are in the city's battle against the pandemic.

"Our key indicators with COVID-19 continue to improve," Barrett said. "We are seeing an average of over 2,000 tests performed each day, and a 5% positive rate for this period. That to me is the key number, bringing the positive rate down."

MHD will continue to monitor the situation and determine if additional protective measures are necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19.  

"We are seeing positive trends in the percent positivity and the burd of disease in our community," said Dr. Ben Weston with the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management. "We must maintain our  momentum."

The City of Milwaukee's key indicators for Moving Milwaukee Forward Safely have been updated as they are every Thursday and are available online at milwaukee.gov/coronavirus.