COVID-19 deaths in Oconto County increase by 4 to 27
Kent Tempus
OCONTO – Four more Oconto County residents have died from COVID-19, bringing the death toll from the virus to 27 through Monday.
The deaths were added to the state Department of Health Services tally over the past week.
One of those three deaths occurred Oct. 20, bringing the total for last month to 18.
Another death occurred Nov. 4, while two people died on Nov. 8, according to DHS records. That brings the total for November to five.
Oconto County's total of 27 deaths is the 28th-highest in the state.
Out of the first 23 deaths that were previously reported, according to the Oconto County Health Department:
All but four had underlying conditions.
The youngest was 50.
The oldest was 97.
Three were between the ages of 50 and 59, one with no underlying conditions.
Six were between the ages of 60 and 69, one with no underlying conditions.
Eight were between the ages of 70 and 79, two with no underlying conditions.
Three were between the ages of 80 and 89.
Three were 90 or older.
Three of the 10 census tracts in Oconto County now have at least five deaths, according to DHS, including:
Six deaths in Tract 1007, which includes most of the rest of the town of Maple Valley, a tiny piece of the town of Underhill and all of the town of Gillett and the city of Gillett.
Five in Tract 1003, which includes all of the towns of Townsend, Lakewood and Doty, most of the town of Riverview and both the west edge and a small piece of the north side of the town of Mountain.
Five in Tract 1010, which includes about two-thirds of the city and the town of Oconto, along with the northern edge of the town of Pensaukee and a small section of the northeast corner of the town of Stiles.
The state does not list deaths in census tracts where four or fewer people have died.
Through Monday, the most recent data available, 142 county residents had been hospitalized with COVID-19, and the county had 229 active cases.
As of Nov. 30, the county had 3,139 confirmed positive tests, up 144 since Nov. 23.
Over the same period, the number of negative tests increased 344 to 13,463.
That means nearly 30% percent of all tests over that seven-day period were positive.
In comparison:
From Nov. 16 to 23, there were 191 confirmed positives out of 565 tests reported, or just under 38%.
From Nov. 9 to 16, there were 264 confirmed positives out of 775 tests reported, or 34%.
From Nov. 2 to 9, there were 241 confirmed positives out of 635 tests, or 34%.
For the month overall, there were 840 positive tests out of 2,463 tests total, meaning 34% of all tests returned were positive.
In October, there were 1,272 positives out 4,072 tests in total, or 31% positive.
Oconto County continues to have the fifth-highest number of cases per 100,000 residents since the start of the pandemic, behind Menominee, Dodge, Shawano and Brown counties. Brown County had topped the state for much of the fall, but cases have surged in the other three counties in recent weeks.
Statewide, the number of cases reached 387,235, with 3,313 deaths through Monday. About 18% of the cases were active, and 4.4% of all people who tested positive had been hospitalized.
FOR MORE OCONTO COUNTY NEWS:Check out our website!
Contact Kent Tempus at (920) 431-8226 or ktempus@gannett.com.