Wisconsin sets new record for coronavirus deaths

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers pleaded with people on Tuesday to skip Thanksgiving celebrations with anyone from outside their households as Wisconsin set a new record for COVID-19 deaths.

Evers and state Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm held a news conference Tuesday to plead with people to skip Thanksgiving gatherings with anyone they don't live with to avoid spreading the disease and creating a post-holiday surge of cases that could swamp hospitals.

"If you're planning to spend Thanksgiving with people outside your household, we urge you to seriously reconsider. We all must make short-terms sacrifices for our long-term health," Evers said.

"As you consider your options for Thursday, please make the hard choices."

The DHS reported Tuesday that the disease was a factor in another 104 deaths, a new daily record. The old record was 92 deaths, set on Nov. 17.

The death toll now stands at 3,115.

The department reported another 6,202 confirmed infections; the state has now seen 363,973 cases since the pandemic began in March.

Infection rates have been trending downward a bit since last week, however.

The seven-day average of positive tests was 28.7% as of Monday, down from 36.5% last week.

Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Wisconsin's chief medical officer, said that doesn't mean the state is flattening the curve.

"The curve is very, very elevated.

All communities have high disease activity, and in that environment, there's risk of transmission to and from people who don't know that they're infected," he said.

"And that's really the greatest risk right now."

Wisconsin still ranks sixth in the country for new cases per capita, though, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.