The seven day average of new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday – 970 – marks the first time since September that the number has been below 1,000.
“That’s really good news. On the other hand, when we were on the upslope of this curve, and we were hitting 970 cases a day, we thought we were in dire straits,” Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said. “It is all relative, and as we’ve said this is still far too high a rate.”
Today’s #COVID19_WI update & the 7-day average is below 1,000 cases, the 1st time since September 9, 2020. Our hospitalized & death numbers remain steady & still too high, indicating #COVID19 is still spreading throughout #Wisconsin. #YouStopTheSpread: https://t.co/azIna3TqRR pic.twitter.com/bnqQ5Xg7W7
— WIDeptHealthServices (@DHSWI) February 9, 2021
Health authorities urge the public to continue wearing masks and social distancing, and say that’s critical to slow spread of new variants of the virus.
“We should be pleased with the progress we’ve made, but we should be vigilant and really take seriously the risk that a second and additional wave of infections could occur,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, the state’s chief medical officer. “So we are not out of the woods yet, and the novel variants are a big part of why we need to remain vigilant.”