Oct. 13, 2020 7:40p
(WGTD/AP)---Wisconsin has hit a pair of grim coronavirus milestones, with record highs for positive cases and deaths reported on the eve of an overflow field hospital opening near Milwaukee. The state Department of Health Services reported 3,279 new cases yesterday, breaking a five-day-old record. It reported 34 deaths, also a new high, bringing the state's death toll to 1,508.
The hardest-hit area remains northeast Wisconsin. By comparison, the tri-county area of southeast Wisconsin—Kenosha, Racine and Walworth—had about 5.5% of the new cases reported Tuesday, even though it has about 8% of the population.
That’s not to say cases aren’t surging here. There’s a partial explanation for the spike in Racine County. The state Department of Corrections said it had 124 active cases Tuesday among prisoners at the Racine Correctional Institution/Sturtevant Transitional Facility.
Testing opportunities for area residents continue to expand. A downtown Kenosha drug store will be hosting a testing site in the parking lot near the Simmons Island Beach House Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays through at least Nov. 15th. Modern Apothecary is running the site under a pilot program from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The testing will be free.
The City of Racine has received word that the National Guard will offer testing on Thursdays starting after the election in the parking lot of the Cesar Chavez Community Center.
A new Guard testing schedule for Kenosha County began this week. Sites will be open on Mondays at the Kenosha County Job Center on Sheridan Rd. and on Fridays at the Kenosha County Center at 50 and 45.
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