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1. Where is the best place to find COVID-19 data?

Updated 8/5/2022

The best place to find local COVID-19 data is on the St. Croix County COVID-19 Dashboard. This dashboard shows the following data points for St. Croix County:

• Total number of COVID-19 cases in St. Croix County
• COVID-19 vaccination percentages of St. Croix County residents
• Number of deaths
• and more

Here are other sources of data showing the impact of COVID-19 on the state of Wisconsin and the United States: (the data in these sources may not immediately reflect the data from the St. Croix County Dashboard)

• Wisconsin COVID-19 Data
• U.S. COVID-19 Data

2. Why is the COVID-19 data on the St. Croix County website and other websites different?

The difference in numbers is due to how the numbers are reported. St. Croix County Public Health counts cases by day that we receive a positive test result for. We receive the majority of our test results from laboratories, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and other health departments in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

3. If a person tests positive more than once for COVID-19, how is that represented in the data?

The positive cases on the St. Croix County COVID-19 Dashboard are all individual cases. An individual is only counted once as a positive case no matter the number of times they receive a positive test result.

4. What is a probable case? How are they recorded?

The probable cases included in the data on the St. Croix County COVID-19 Dashboard are individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 with an antigen test, also known as a rapid test. These individuals must follow the same isolation protocol as those that test positive by PCR or NAAT test.

You can find more information on what an antigen test is and how it compares to the PCR or NAAT test on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website.

This definition follows the definition used by the Department of Health Services of Wisconsin.

5. What is considered an outbreak?

The state of Wisconsin defines what is considered an outbreak. Meeting the threshold of an outbreak is a marker in our response where Public Health begins to work closely with an organization to ensure that control measures are in place to prevent further spread of the disease. For businesses, this threshold is when 2 or more people test positive and have an epidemiological link. Because individuals at long term care facilities are especially susceptible to COVID-19, the threshold for these facilities is when one person tests positive.

6. How are deaths due to COVID-19 reported?

COVID-19 deaths that are reported on the St. Croix County Dashboard are reported to us by the state and or the County Medical Examiner. For a death to be reported as a COVID-19 death, COVID-19 is identified as a cause of death or a contributing factor to the death. Deaths among people with COVID-19 that were the result of non-COVID reasons (e.g., accident, overdose, etc.) are not included as a COVID-19 death

The state may be delayed in reporting COVID-19 deaths to local health departments for a variety of reasons. At times there are amendments to or delays to the state receiving notification of these deaths from vital records. The state is working on linking the vital record system with the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Reporting System, however a one to two-month delay may still exist with the vital record system processing. The state has hired additional staff to improve the timeliness and help with any backlogged data. 

The addition of staff to assist with backlogged data and quality assurance measures may result in an increase in the notifications of COVID-19 deaths. These deaths may have occurred earlier in the pandemic. The state is aware of this issue and has provided the information above.   

As of June 30, 2021, zero of the individuals reported as St. Croix County COVID-19 deaths had received any vaccine doses against COVID-19.