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

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 cases
• Percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19
• Number of hospitalizations
• 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. What do the data points on the St. Croix County COVID-19 dashboard mean?

The best place to find local COVID-19 data is on the St. Croix County COVID-19 Dashboard. Here are what each of the data points on the dashboard mean:

Page 1: Summary

This page is updated daily Monday through Friday. Data may not be updated on holidays. 

• Total Cases: This is the total number of individuals to test positive for COVID-19 since March 2020. This includes individuals testing positive by a PCR test, NAAT test, or Antigen test. People testing positive multiple times are only counted once.
• Hospitalizations: This is the total number of individuals who are hospitalized with COVID-19 at the following hospitals: Allina Health - River Falls, HealthPartners - New Richmond, HealthPartners – Hudson, HealthPartners – Amery, Osceola Medical Center, St. Croix Regional Medical Center and Western Wisconsin Health. The individuals included in this number may not be St. Croix County residents and St. Croix County residents may be hospitalized other hospitals outside of the western Wisconsin region.
• Deaths: This is the total number of St. Croix County residents who have died due to COVID-19 or COVID-19 is listed as a contributing factor to the death.
• Percent Positive: This is the percentage of people who tested for COVID-19 by PCR or NAAT tests that are positive. It is a 7-day, rolling average to smooth some of the fluctuations that are seen numbers that are reported daily due to reporting and processing lags occur.

Page 2: Current COVID-19 Status

This page is updated daily Monday through Friday. Data may not be updated on holidays. 

• New Residents Testing Positive: This is the number of St. Croix County residents that tested positive for active COVID-19 virus by either molecular test or antigen test on the day reported.   
• Positive Molecular Tests (PCR or NAAT): This is the number of St. Croix County residents who tested positive for COVID-19 on the day reported by a molecular test which are a PCR test or NAAT test. These individuals must isolate for 10 days and identify anyone with whom they have had close contact. They are defined by the Wisconsin Department of Health as confirmed.
• Positive Antigen Tests (Rapid Test): This is the number of St. Croix County residents who tested positive for COVID-19 on the day reported by antigen test, also known as a rapid test. These individuals must isolate for 10 days and identify anyone with whom they have had close contact. They are defined by the Wisconsin Department of Health as probable.
  • See here for more information on the types of COVID-19 tests.
• 7-Day Average of New Residents Testing Positive: This is a 7-day rolling average of the number of new residents testing positive for COVID-19. This rolling average is less affected by fluctuations that may occur in the data, such as fewer tests being conducted on weekends, and small numbers. The intent is to give a more representative view of the ongoing COVID-19 trends in our community.
• Number of Daily Cases/100,000 population (Risk Level Indicator): This is a measure used to compare number of new cases across different populations. It is calculated as a proportion of the population — specifically, daily new COVID cases for every 100,000 people. This number defines the risk level of St. Croix County set by the Harvard Path to Zero.
• Graphs:
  • New Daily Cases (Last 30 Days and Since March 2020): These graphs show the number individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 by PCR or NAAT test (blue bar) stacked with the number of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 by Antigen test (orange bar). The height of the two bars together shows the total number of individuals by day that tested positive for COVID. The green line is the 7-Day rolling average of daily new individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. This line is the best to examine the trend of COVID-19 cases in St. Croix County. You may click on the names of the parts of the graph in the legend to remove a part from the display.
  • Cumulative Cases: This graph shows the trajectory of the positive COVID-19 cases, the total number as of the last update, in St. Croix County. An upward bend in a curve indicates a time of great increase in the number of coronavirus cases COVID-19 positive tests. The blue portion is the number of positive COVID-19 cases by PCR or NAAT test and the orange is the number of positive COVID-19 cases by Antigen test. You may click on the names of the parts of the graph in the legend to remove a part from the display.

Page 3: Hospitalizations and Deaths

This page is updated daily Monday through Friday. Data may not be updated on holidays. 

• Hospitalizations: This is the total number of individuals who are hospitalized with COVID-19 at the following hospitals: Allina Health - River Falls, HealthPartners - New Richmond, HealthPartners – Hudson, HealthPartners – Amery, Osceola Medical Center, St. Croix Regional Medical Center and Western Wisconsin Health. The individuals included in this number may not be St. Croix County Residents.
• Bed Capacity Indicators: This is the total number of in-patient beds available in Western Wisconsin Hospitals indicated by the circle of color. Red = 0-5 beds open; Yellow = 6- 9 beds open; and Green = 10+ beds.
• Number of deaths: This is the total number of St. Croix County residents that passed away while positive for COVID-19 and COVID-19 is listed as the cause of death or a contributing factor to death. Updated as new data becomes available.  
• Age and Gender Graphs: These are the age and gender distribution of COVID-19 deaths in St. Croix County. Hover over the graphs to see the percentages of deaths by age group and gender.

Page 4: Demographic Data

This page is updated weekly. Data may not be updated on holidays. 

• Age Graph: This is the distribution of all individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 by age. Please hover over the bars to see the totals by age group. There may be missing data and so the totals may not add up to total number of positives reported on the first page of the dashboard.
• Gender Graph: This is the distribution of all individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 by gender. Please hover over the graph to see the proportion of cases by each gender.
• Ethnicity Graph: This is the distribution of all individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 by ethnicity. Please hover over the graph to see the proportion of cases by each ethnicity.

Page 5: Testing

This page is updated daily Monday through Friday. Data may not be updated on holidays.

• Percent positive COVID-19 test results by number of people tested: This is the percentage of people who tested for COVID-19 by PCR or NAAT tests that are positive.
• Graph: The number who tested positive and negative stacked on top of one another by day. The green line is a 7-day, rolling average of the percent testing positive to smooth some of the fluctuations that are seen numbers that are reported daily due to reporting and processing lags occur. The daily numbers are sourced from the Wisconsin Department of Health. You may click on the names of the parts of the graph in the legend to remove a part from the display.

Page 6: Our Response

• This page is the current status of St. Croix County Public Health’s response to the public and aiding residents with positive COVID-19 test results.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. I have heard that 6% of deaths are attributable only to COVID-19. What does this mean?

Of all deaths reporting COVID-19 on the death certificate, 6% were attributed only to COVID-19. The high majority of COVID-related deaths also note comorbidities or pre-existing conditions (94%). This is to be expected as chronic diseases (comorbidities) are common in U.S. adults—this category includes chronic conditions such as diabetes (9% of adults in WI), heart disease (31% of adults in WI), and obesity (32% of adults in WI) which are prevalent in our state. It is important to note that COVID-19 is causing an excess in death far beyond what we’ve seen in previous years. This is to say that individuals with comorbidities would likely not have died if they didn’t have COVID-19. Comorbidities and underlying conditions are worsened by the presence of COVID-19.

Furthermore, there are still people without any underlying health conditions who die from COVID-19—even though they don’t comprise the majority of deaths. If people without any underlying health conditions contract COVID-19, they can still spread the virus to more vulnerable groups (those with underlying health conditions or those who are elderly) whether or not they have symptoms.

It is also worth noting that death percentages do not account for the full spectrum of negative COVID-19 outcomes including missing work or being hospitalized.