Three men have died in Wisconsin from COVID-19, the first to be reported in the state.
According to a press release Thursday night from Gov. Tony Evers' office, the first death was a man in his 50s from Fond du Lac County. The second was a man in his 90s from Ozaukee County. No other details about their circumstances were reported.
The third death, a 66-year-old Milwaukee man, was announced Friday morning by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office. The man had been hospitalized since March 16. The office reported that it doesn't know how he contracted the virus.
"Our hearts go out to all the loved ones affected by these deaths, and to all those suffering from this virus," Evers said in the statement. "We are committed to fighting the spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin and I want to recognize the hard work and bravery of our nurses, doctors, state health officials, and all those on the front lines in the effort to save lives. Together we will get through this historic health challenge."
The news of the first two deaths comes the same day that the state saw nearly 50 additional cases of the new coronavirus confirmed. The state Department of Health Services reported 155 people have tested positive in 21 counties.
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The 155 figure didn't include two new cases in La Crosse County and the first case in Rock County announced Thursday evening by the county, bringing the total to at least 158.
That 155 number included the first confirmed cases in Bayfield , Calumet, Columbia, Eau Claire , Ozaukee, Sauk and Walworth counties.
As of 1:50 p.m. Friday, the number of confirmed cases had risen to 206, according to DHS:
Bayfield, 1
Brown, 2
Calumet, 1
Chippewa, 1
Columbia, 5
Dane, 32
Douglas, 1
Dunn, 1
Eau Claire, 1
Fond du Lac, 14
Green, 1
Jefferson, 1
Kenosha, 4
La Crosse, 4
Marathon, 1
Milwaukee, 85
Outagamie, 2
Ozaukee, 7
Pierce, 1
Racine, 3
Rock, 1
Sauk, 2
Sheboygan, 6
St. Croix, 2
Walworth, 3
Washington, 3
Waukesha, 15
Winnebago, 5
Wood, 1
DHS has identified community spread of the virus in Brown, Dane, Kenosha and Milwaukee counties, meaning some people who have been infected with the virus aren't sure how or where they became infected.
Editor's note: Jenny Peek, John K. Wilson, David Hyland and Andrea Anderson contributed to this report.
Wisconsin Public Radio, Copyright 2018, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board. Wisconsin Public Radio can be heard locally on 91.3 KUWS-FM and at wpr.org.
This story was updated at 2:51 p.m. by Telegram staff with the most recent numbers from Wisconsin DHS.
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