Coronavirus in Wisconsin: Health department reports outbreaks at 16 schools in Washington and Ozaukee Counties – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Updates on the impact of COVID-19 in the Milwaukee area and around the state of Wisconsin.

BY THE NUMBERS: Tracking coronavirus cases in Wisconsin

FOLLOW THE MONEY: How coronavirus is impacting Wisconsin businessand unemployment

RELATED: Coronavirus cases in U.S. and around the world

UW-Madison on Wednesday said it had learned of one student hospitalized with complications of COVID-19.

Students and employees are not required to tell the university they are hospitalized.

The school alsoreported 47 new cases, including two employees.

On-campus sites reported11 of the positive cases out of 392 tests. The remaining 36 positive cases came from off-campus testing sites.

As of Wednesday morning, 486 students were in isolation or quarantine, in addition to all the residents of Witte and Sellery halls and several fraternityand sorority houses.

The seven-day average of new daily COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin climbed higher than ever Wednesday as the state reported more than 1,400 new cases.

The state Department of Health Services reported 1,408 new cases as well as 10,788 negative tests, for a positivity rate of 11.5%.

Wisconsin also reported eight additional deaths from the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,228.

The numbers Wednesday were on par with results reported Tuesday, and theycame as the state continued to see a surge of new coronavirus cases: DHShas reported more than 1,300 new cases onsix of the last seven days.

The consistently high new daily case counts have led to a rising seven-day new case average since the start of September. On Wednesday the seven-day average was ata new record of1,339.

Read the full story.

Sophie Carson

A student at St. Robert Catholic School in Shorewood, which saw a boost in enrollment this year because of its decision to hold in-person classes, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the school reported on its website.

According to the posting on its COVID-19 dashboard, St. Robert had a single active case involving a child as of Tuesday, and 15 other children had close contact with the child. No other information about the student, grade level oractions the school has taken were provided on the dashboard.

Efforts to reach the principal and communications director were not immediately successful Wednesday.

The site includes a letter from the North Shore Health Department saying students would need to be quarantined and attend school virtually 10 days for the infected child and 14 days for those exposed.

St. Robert added about 50 students this year, most from families in Shorewood, Milwaukee and Whitefish Bay who were looking for in-person instruction after their schools decided to start the school year online or with a hybrid online/in-person model

Annysa Johnson

According to a university release, the University of Wisconsin in Madison has adjusted academic and financial deadlines for families who still might back out of the school year because of COVID-19 concerns.

We understand these are difficult times for students and families as they evaluate rapidly changing circumstances during the pandemic,university registrar Scott Owczarek said int he release. To help reduce some pressure theyre feeling, weve provided some flexibility in the timeline for making important decisions about this semester.

For students negatively impacted by COVID-19 and who choose to completely withdraw from the semester, a full tuition refund will be possible for one additional week, to Friday, Sept. 18, an extra week from the initial Sept. 11 deadline.

Students are encouraged to contact theiracademic deans officeto discuss their situation if they are considering withdrawing or withdrew since Sept. 11.

The deadline for students to drop a fall term course and receive a 50 percent tuition refund on adjusted tuition remains Friday, Sept. 25.

Nearly 90% of University of Wisconsin-Madison students who have tested positive for COVID-19 have exhibited symptoms, according to public health officials.

According to Madison and Dane Countys combined health department, contact tracing has found that 88% of students who test positive have shown some level of illness.

"There are a lot of theories about what COVID-19 is and isn't, but the science and data from these cases on the UW-Madison campus shows most people who get it, get sick," Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said in a statement.

As of Tuesday, 2,160 UW-Madison students have tested positive, according to the local health department. At least 7% of the universitys undergraduate students are positive, the department said.

Patrick Marley

The Tommy Bartlett Show, a water ski showcase that opened in 1952 and has been a fixture in Wisconsin Dells for decades, announced Wednesday that it would be closing permanently, too deeply impacted by losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is with great sadness that we announce the Tommy Bartlett Show will not be able to make a comeback in 2021 as we had hoped," said Tom Diehl, the show's co-owner and president, in a statement.

"After 69 years, we are permanently shuttering the business. ... From May through September 6, we experienced a complete loss of revenue when we had to cancel our 2020 summer season on Lake Delton due to the pandemic. Each fall, we begin to plan for the next season, and with so much uncertainty surrounding the future of the pandemic and travel, we cannot undergo additional financial risk and investment to begin planning for summer 2021. While we are grateful that we have had almost seven decades of entertaining visitors in Wisconsin Dells, we have no choice but to close the Show.

The show closed down in May because of pandemic restrictions on large gatherings. The show usually runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day and had plans to return in 2021.

Read the full story from Sarah Hauer.

JR Radcliffe

The Washington-Ozaukee Public Health Department is investigating COVID-19 cases at 16 schools across Washington and Ozaukee counties, according to the department's COVID-19 dashboard.

The department defines a school investigation as one or more positive cases in a school setting that cause the quarantine of close contacts or additional positive cases.

According to the county health department, there are 27 children with active coronavirus cases within the West Bend School District boundaries. Twenty-one of those are between the ages of 15 and 18.

These cases are not necessarily all at public schools; the boundaries include public as well as private, parochial and homeschools.

As of last week, West Bend School District said 37 students and one staff member had been placed in quarantine after having close contact with three people who had tested positive for coronavirus.

The number of active cases within other school district boundaries are:

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Alec Johnson

People ages 18 to 24 largely have driven Wisconsin's recent surge in COVD-19 cases, according to state health officials.

The state on Tuesday reported 1,348 new cases as well as 10 new deaths as officials said young people needed to help stop the spread of the virus to older, more vulnerable people.

"We have outbreaks in younger folks. Now is the time we really need to pay attention to protecting older and vulnerable patients so that the transmission doesn't reach those who are at high risk of severe disease," said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer for the state Department of Health Services.

The state on Tuesday reported 10,918 negative tests as well, for a positivity rate of 11%, down from nearly 20% Monday.

Read the full story.

Sophie Carson

On Tuesday, as they hunkered down for their first full day under quarantine at Marquette University's Schroeder Hall, students took to their windows and posted messages.

"Is this hell?" read one sign made of multicolored Post-it notes.

More like a dose of reality, as Marquette like other colleges and universities around the state and nation deals with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Late Monday night,officials quarantined the Schroederresidence hallfor two weeks after a cluster of coronavirus cases was detected in the facility.

You cant see any friends at all,Sean Bishop said as he left the dorm Tuesday for home. That makes the decision really easy for me.

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Sarah Hauer and Bill Glauber

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Coronavirus in Wisconsin: Health department reports outbreaks at 16 schools in Washington and Ozaukee Counties - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel