Growing COVID-19 hospitalizations a concern for the Medical College of Wisconsin CEO Dr. John Raymond

Wisconsinites will need to wear a mask and stay six feet apart from one another if they want to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

That’s according to Dr. John Raymond, President and CEO at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He was a guest on WTMJ 2021 on Tuesday, October 13.

“We have a very clear surge in cases. We’re averaging more than 2600 new cases per day and that’s significantly higher than we were seeing even a month ago. We’re more than three times higher than where were at the beginning of September,” Dr. Raymond said.

“People should be wearing masks and practicing social distancing, because we really don’t know who may be carrying the virus.”

Dr. Raymond says the most alarming trend in Wisconsin is the rising hospitalization rate.

“We’re at an all-time high of hospitalizations with 950 patients with COVID-19 in Wisconsin hospitals and over 240 of those are in intensive care units. Both of those are new highs for us, and we are starting to come close to the capacity for our health systems to be able to render good care not just to people with COVID-19 but people that have other diseases as well,” Dr. Raymond said.

Dr. Raymond says it will take better messaging and more discipline from elected officials and citizens alike to slow the spread of the virus in Wisconsin.

“Throughout the course of the pandemic, the inconsistent messaging about the value of facemasks and personal responsibility, I think that has probably been the most troubling aspect of how our leadership of the country has approached this really unprecedented pandemic, which requires a certain degree of individual control of behaviors.”

Dr. John Raymond was a guest on WTMJ 2021.