Dane Co. ending COVID-19 summaries as Public Health Emergency ends

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Regular updates on the COVID-19 pandemic in Dane County are winding down.

On Friday, Public Health Madison and Dane County released the last of its regular scheduled Data Snapshots, which offered summaries of the spread of coronavirus in the county.

The agency cited the end of the Public Health Emergency on May 11 as the reason for ending the once weekly, but now monthly, reports. In May, health officials will publish one last snapshot.

We'll have hospitalizations, deaths, and links to wastewater on the dashboard past May. With most people doing home tests, cases have become a less helpful metric in measuring COVID in the community.
— @publichealthmdc (@PublicHealthMDC) April 21, 2023

Coupled with the ending of the summaries, PHMDC’s Data Dashboard will be pared down and one of the most cited numbers will no longer be included. After the emergency ends, the dashboard will only update once a week – and will only include hospitalizations and deaths. Links to wastewater testing will also be available.

That means PHMDC will no longer report the number of COVID-19 cases being reported. In a reply on Twitter, the agency explained, “with most people doing home tests, cases have been a less helpful metric in metric in measuring COVID in the community.”

When fall rolls around and flu season returns, county health officials expect to begin again more comprehensive reporting of all respiratory viruses and, in the process, they will fold COVID-19 reports with the rest.

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