COVID-19 cases jump by 21 in Winona County, La Crosse remains at 26 for fifth day

For the fifth consecutive day, La Crosse County had no new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Of the 26 total cases, 23 have recovered. One is still hospitalized.  

Watch the La Crosse County health department meeting below.

Up the river, the story is much worse. Winona County has gone from reporting 30 confirmed cases of Tuesday to 51 Wednesday.

The reason cited for the sharp rise in case numbers is new information received about testing done at county nursing homes and other care facilities. Some of those 21 were asymptomatic.

The county said that a lack of extensive testing continues to limit the accuracy of the data about the scope of COVID-19 infections there and statewide. Supplies for testing are in short supply, so only a specific targeted populations gets tested.

The COVID-19 death toll in Winona County remains at six. In La Crosse, it’s still zero.

Minnesota reported another eight deaths and 114 cases and 20 more hospitalizations — 18 of those going to the ICU — on Wednesday.

The state now has a total of 87 deaths and 1,809 cases.  

Meanwhile, the numbers in Wisconsin there were 12 more deaths, 166 new cases and 42 more hospitalizations due to the virus.

The state now has 3,721 total cases, 1,091 hospitalizations and 182 deaths.

Milwaukee County has a majority of those. Two more deaths Wednesday brought the total to 99. The county also had 60 more cases bringing the total to 1,937.

Across the area, Vernon County remained at zero, while Trempealeau and Houston counties still have just one case.

The U.S. has the most deaths and confirmed cases, despite a lack in testing supplies. There are now over 24,429 deaths and 601,472 cases — 43,482 have recovered — in the U.S.

Worldwide, the death toll is up to 132,276 of 2,023,663 cases — 507,330 have recovered.