The Department of Health Services reported 478 positive results out of more than 9,900 tests Wednesday, for a 4.8% positivity rate.

3 and the lowest positivity rate since Aug.

Even though Wisconsin set a single-day record for COVID-19 cases Saturday, the rate of new cases has inched down from its late-July peak, and the seven-day average reached its lowest point in a month.

The Department of Health Services reported 478 positive results out of more than 9,900 tests Wednesday, for a 4.8% positivity rate.

The seven-day average of newly reported cases fell to 760, its lowest since July 13 (when it was 697).

A new feature on the health department's data website showed Wednesday that the positivity rate in recent days might have been slightly distorted — lower than it should be — because of delays analyzing and manually confirming test results.

These delays have led to backlogs of negative tests, which cause more recent positive results to be mismatched with older negative results in the manually confirmed numbers reported each day by DHS.

Including this preliminary data, the seven-day average of test positivity is 7.4%, compared to 6.3% using the confirmed test results.

DHS bases the activity ratings on a combination of total new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks, and the percent change in new cases between the past seven days and the seven days before that.

The state as a whole saw 194 cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks.

Barron County confirmed 163 of its total 308 cases in the past two weeks.

Sawyer confirmed 55 of 82 total, and Marinette confirmed 175 of 432.

Of 62,263 Wisconsin residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, 52,350 — or 84% — are listed as having "recovered" by DHS.

As of mid-afternoon Tuesday, Wisconsin hospitals reported having 364 total COVID-19 patients — down from 414 on Monday afternoon — with 111 in intensive care.

Another 221 inpatients were awaiting COVID-19 test results.

Globally, more than 20.4 million cases were confirmed as of mid-Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University, and nearly 745,000 people had died.