COVID-19 infections 2X last year’s peak

Heath department official says Omicron variant here

COVID-19caseshavesoaredin Marathon County over the past week, likely the result of a new Omicron variant of the virus, Aaron Ruff, Marathon County Health Department spokesman said on Tuesday.

The department reports an average daily infection rate of 380 new cases with a Jan. 14 peak of 593 cases in a single day. The positivity rate of COVID-19 tests is 30 percent. This rate of infection is better than double the worst days of the pandemic in 2020-21.

“That’s incredible, that’s a lot,” Ruff said.

Ruff said the sharp spike in COVID- 19 cases but a stable weekly average of 47 hospitalizations per week suggest the presence of Omicron in the county.

He said the University of Wisconsin Hygiene Laboratory performs genetic sequencing on random samples of positive COVID-19 tests in regions of the state. The lab’s latest tests are from the end of December, too late to positively identify the variant behind the latest surge in county coronavirus cases.

Ruff said the COVID-19 caseload has been building since summer. “It is slowly ticking up,” he said. “We’ve seen covid increase since July. It is alarming.”

The spokesman said media reports say that the Omicron variant is highly transmissible but more mild than other COVID-19 variants, including Delta. Ruff said, however, that it is too early to know that as a fact.

“People might think that if they get Omicron, they’ll get a stuffy nose and be on their way,” he said. “But that’s not necessarily the case.”

As of Jan. 17, the county counted 426 confirmed and probable deaths due to COVID-19. That’s a rate of 10 deaths per week.

Ruff said it is largely up to individuals to take measures to try and keep themselves safe from COVID-19. He said the courts have ruled the state’s governor is powerless to impose mask orders and shut-downs. Ruff said the county health department may have power to impose COVID-19 actions but enforcement through the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department is uncertain.

“It’s up to individuals to make responsible decisions,” he said. “It’s a tough climate for everyone right now.”

Ruff said vaccination and booster shots were a key safeguard against COVID- 19. Only 54.7 percent of the county population has had two vaccination shots, he reported.

Ruff said it was difficult to predict the trajectory of the virus. Maybe things will get better, he said, but possibly far worse.

“We can’t predict it will get better or worse until it happens,” he said.