SHOREWOOD, Wisc. — Covid-19 cases in Shorewood more than doubled over the last 11 days amid the spread of the omicron variant, the dominant strain circulating nationwide, according to the Northshore Health Department.
The Village of Shorewood COVID-19 Case Data shows there were 455 cases reported on Dec. 17. As of Tuesday, that number jumped to 1,097.
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As of Dec. 24, data shows a total of 69 students were in quarantine/isolation in the Shorewood School District.
The Shorewood Data Dashboard is updated every Monday with the previous Friday's end of day data. The Northshore Health Department usually shares the weekly data late Friday.
The omicron variant is now the dominant variant in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee County's Chief Health Policy Advisor, Ben Weston, noted in a social media post on Tuesday that it took the Alpha variant 12 weeks to become dominant, 11 weeks for the Delta variant and just 4 weeks for the Omicron variant.
It took Alpha 12 weeks to become dominant in WI (yellow arrows)
— Ben Weston, MD, MPH (@BenWWeston) December 28, 2021
Took Delta 11 weeks (blue)
Took #Omicron 4 weeks (green)
The new variant is ⚠️INCREDIBLY⚠️ contagious. We don't yet know severity.
Time to:
💉get your #Booster
😷UPGRADE your mask
🤔rethink your gatherings pic.twitter.com/6E2qNivUGl
Weston writes that's proof the new variant is incredibly contagious - making it essential people get their vaccine booster shots, upgrade their masks and reconsider social gatherings.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) warned of the omicron variants rapid spread last week.
"Current data from other states and regions of the world show that it spreads more easily than previous strains, including the Delta variant," DHS said in a letter to all Wisconsinites. "There is a serious risk that continued, increased numbers of COVID-19 cases will overwhelm an already strained health care system, leading to dangerous situations where patients experiencing medical emergencies may not be able to receive immediate, adequate, life-saving attention and care due to lack of hospital capacity."
Meanwhile the state's hospitals are beginning to become critically full, with UW Healthsaying on Tuesdaythat the variant's surge could make it impossible to care for all their critical patients.
The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene has a databaseshowing the spread of the variants in the state.
The DHS reports the cumulative total confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the state has reached 9,928. Unconfirmed deaths have already surpassed 10,000.