Growth in County Virus Cases Slows

After climbing rapidly during October and November, the pace of the spread of COVID-19 in Door County has slowed in the last two weeks. 

As of Tuesday, the number of new positive tests during the previous seven days was 96. But on Wednesday, the county reported 30 new positive tests, the highest single-day count since Nov. 15. The seven-day average was still nearly as many as were reported in the county through the end of August, but fewer than half of the number reported in seven days one month earlier. During the seven-day period ending Nov. 9, the county reported 240 positive tests. There have been 1,697 positive COVID-19 tests in the county over the course of the pandemic. 

To date, 61 people have been hospitalized for COVID-19 in Door County, including 42 since Oct. 12. Eleven Door County residents have died from the virus. 

The dispersal of positive test results has shifted during recent weeks. A month ago, cases were spread evenly between southern Door County, the City of Sturgeon Bay and northern Door County. But as the tourism season has ended and seasonal residents have returned home, more cases are popping up in the county’s year-round population centers. There are now 502 total cases reported in the southern Door area, 755 in the City of Sturgeon Bay area and 339 reported north of the Town of Sevastopol, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. 

The last of the National Guard’s free community testing events was held Dec. 7 in Sturgeon Bay. Door County Emergency Services is working to arrange for the free testing sites to open again after the holidays.