If you’re planning to celebrate Thanksgiving with extended family, Department of Health Services Secretary designee Andrea Palm wishes you wouldn’t
“Our situation in Wisconsin is only going to get better, if we all take steps together to change the course of this pandemic. Please stay home. Do not gather with folks that you don’t live with.”
Palm and Governor Tony Evers issued the last-minute plea to stay home on Tuesday, when for the the first time, Wisconsin reported more than 100 deaths from COVID-19 in a single day.
Hospitals remain stressed, although the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday — 1,986 — marked the fourth straight day below 2,000 hospitalized patients reported.
On Wednesday, the state Department of Health Services reported 63 additional COVID-19 related deaths, and the the seven day average for deaths is an all time high at 55. The coronavirus related death toll in the state now stands at 3,178.
Today’s #COVID19_WI update & 7-day average, which still shows 5,000+ cases. Remember, a negative test is not a free pass to gather w/others. Celebrate #Thanksgiving safely w/those who live in your household, and get together virtually w/those who don’t. #StopTheSpread pic.twitter.com/lSRRrlSSdh
— WIDeptHealthServices (@DHSWI) November 25, 2020
DHS reported 248 additional hospitalizations and 5,469 new confirmed cases on just over 17,000 tests, for a daily positive test rate of about 31.7 percent. The seven-day positive test rate fell to 28.3 percent.
While the falling positive tests and hospitalizations are encouraging, Palm was asking state residents not to back off on precautions. “Do not gather with folks that you don’t live with. Going to a friend or a relative’s house or hosting a dinner, even for Thanksgiving, are risks that we cannot afford to take as a state.”