COVID Cases in Wisconsin Children Decreased this Week

Friday, October 8th, 2021 -- 9:01 AM

(WMTV) Wisconsin hospitals report COVID-19 cases in children spiked last month, but seem to be heading in the right direction this week.

Dr. Michael Gutzeit, chief medical officer at Children’s Wisconsin, said Wednesday that he’s encouraged by the trend in data he’s seeing in pediatric cases of the coronavirus.

“I’m encouraged that preliminary state figures show cases in kids flattening, but we’re not out of the woods yet,” Dr. Gutzeit said. “We’ll get a better understanding of whether or not we’ve turned the trajectory around as cases from the last couple weeks are investigated and confirmed by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

According to the Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard, the weekly number of COVID-19 cases across those under 18 years old show a sharp decrease in cases.

Those ages 9-13 show the most cases currently, at 1,397 cases the week of Sept. 26. Those ages 0-3 show the lowest number of COVID-19 cases, at 432 during the same time period.

Cumulatively, those ages 14-17 have had the most COVID-19 cases at 39,363. Dr. Gutzeit noted that other states are still seeing “concerning” hospitalization rates in children. Hospitalizations at Children’s Wisconsin are higher than expected now for kids, but not for COVID-19.

He did note that hospitalizations for kids with COVID-19 hit an all time high in September. Health officials are urging families to continue wearing masks, watch their distance and practice other COVID-19 mitigation tools.

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