Wisconsin health officials reported a record-high 7,989 new COVID-19 cases and 52 deaths Wednesday.
The old record of 7,777 cases was set on Friday.
The state also set a record for the highest number of COVID-19-related deaths in a single day Tuesday, with 92.
The seven-day positivity rate dropped to 16.9. The state has recorded a total of 331,837 cases and 2,793 deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers plans to extend an order requiring masks be worn in indoor public places amid a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases that is straining the state’s hospitals.
Evers said Wednesday that he will extend into January his mask mandate and reissue an order that will extend the state’s public health emergency before the end of this week.
He called on Republicans to support his efforts, saying the seven-day average of positive new cases is now more than 6,400, more than triple what it was two months ago.
It took Wisconsin seven months to log 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and it took only 36 more days to double that number. On Friday – a mere 18 days later – the state blew past 300,000 cases, breaking a record daily high set just a day earlier.
Many of the state’s overwhelmed hospitals reported that they were at or nearing capacity. The state’s chief medical officer warned this week that Wisconsin soon might not be able to adequately treat patients.
