WI COVID deaths this week exceeded all '19 OWI fatalities

Here's a Wisconsin way to grasp the severity of our out-of-control COVID19 outbreak.

Since mid-March, the pandemic has killed 2,626 people here, according to The New York Time's tracking data - and 141 of those deaths were reported in just the 48 hours spanning Nov. 10th and 11th. 

That two-day COVID-death count of 141 is five more than the 136 people who  died in all alcohol-related vehicle crashes last year in Wisconsin, according to state data included in this end of 2019 news story:

Drunk driving deaths across Wisconsin down from 2018

The same tracking data shows Wisconsin's first COVID19 was reported in mid-March, so in much less than a calendar year the state's COVID death total is already more than 19 times the 136 people who died in alcohol-related vehicle crashes last year.

And 2020 has more than six weeks to go. 

How bad will the pandemic get here?

The New York Times tracking data shows COVID is now infecting 344 people in Wisconsin every hour (8,256 divided by 24): 

	TOTAL REPORTED	ON NOV. 12	14-DAY CHANGE
Cases	309,605	8,256	+49%
Deaths	2,626	64	+27%
Hospitalized		2,077	+46%

- which is why state hospitals are running out of ICU beds and may face staff shortages.