GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — There are far more people with COVID-19 coronavirus in the state than what’s reflected in the latest numbers.
That’s the word from state and local health experts.
Because not everyone who may have COVID-19 is being tested for the virus, the numbers we’re getting everyday are likely not close to the real number of infected.
“We don’t recommend testing for people with no symptoms at all,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard with the state Department of Health Services. “We really reserve it for people with illnesses requiring hospitalization and people whose jobs are in healthcare.”
He says the numbers could be much, much higher in reality.
“It’s safe to assume that the number is possibly as high as ten times as many people who have been infected compared to the people actually diagnosed,” said Westergaard. “That’s what the model has shown.”
State and local health officials continue to stress how critically important the “Stay At Home” order is, to slow the spread of COVID-19. Prevea Health CEO Dr. Ashok Rai said Friday that the growth rate for cases in the United States is concerning.
“We caught up to the rest of the world way too fast. Our rate of growth is extremely concerning – we haven’t seen it bend downward on the curve at all, if anything the upward slope continues to increase. So it’s extremely worrisome,” Rai says, “Testing is somewhat limited in Wisconsin, so our numbers are very underrepresented. And despite that under-representation, we saw more than a doubling in two days.”
The state numbers rose above 800 on Friday Afternoon. Experts say those tests were conducted before the latest round of social distancing orders.
