Today, the Department of Health Services is launching a new data dashboard providing information on COVID-19 activity level by county and region in Wisconsin. The intent of the dashboard is to provide Wisconsinites with the tools they need to most effectively respond to COVID-19.
The data dashboard consists of maps and tables that toggle between counties and Healthcare Emergency Readiness Coalition (HERC) regions. The counties and regions are color-coded to indicate overall COVID-19 activity status – low, medium, or high. Overall activity status is a summary indicator based on two data points: the burden of cases and the trajectory of cases. Burden, also defined as case rate, is the total number of cases a county or region has per 100,000 Wisconsin residents in the past two weeks, and is described as low, moderate, moderately high, or high. Trajectory, also defined as case change, refers to the percent change of cases in the past two weeks, and is described as shrinking, growing, or having no significant change. Local and tribal health departments may have additional indicators on their websites, and consulting that information as well is strongly encouraged.
With this activity level information, the local leaders, business people, and residents of Wisconsin can make decisions that are data driven and best meet the needs within their area. DHS does not advise travel at this time.
The dashboard posted today will be expanded in upcoming weeks to also include data on additional indicators related to disease surveillance, health care capacity, and public health response. All dashboard data will be updated weekly on Wednesdays by 2 p.m. and can be found at https://dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/local.htm.
