Dane Co. health officials scaling back number of COVID update reports

MADISON, Wis. — Dane County health officials say they will be scaling their local COVID-19 updates to twice a month, rather than providing the weekly data “snapshots” they have been releasing throughout the pandemic.

The decision from Public Health Madison & Dane County (PHMDC) comes as COVID cases in Dane County ticked up in the last two weeks, but hospitalizations have remained stable. In the last 14 days, Dane County has averaged 92 new cases per day, with an average of 27 people hospitalized each day.

About 4.8 percent of the 1,907 COVID-19 tests conducted per day in the county have come back positive in the last two weeks.

PHMDC says there will be no COVID-19 update next week as it begins its new biweekly schedule for its data summaries. The next “snapshot” will be released on April 21.

While the number of data summary releases are decreasing, those interested in tracking the status of COVID-19 in Dane County can still monitor PHMDC’s COVID-19 dashboard, which is updated every weekday at 10:30 a.m.