Michigan COVID cases fall again in the last week, but deaths spike

Michigan is reporting 8,933 new COVID-19 cases, according to a weekly report the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released Wednesday.

That’s a drop from the last report, when the state said there were 12,860 new cases for the week.

A total of 2,929,612 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the department. In total, 39,972 people have died from the virus, with 275 deaths reported on Wednesday compared to 123 last week. 

However, as home testing has increased during the last year, experts note that some cases are not being recorded. 

The virus has been detected in all of Michigan’s 83 counties. The state’s COVID-19 fatality rate is at 1.4% as of Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, the state reported a total of 970 COVID-19 hospitalizations across Michigan hospitals, a decrease of 76 from the previous week. The state also reported that 149 COVID-19 patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), which is up from 144 last week.

The first two cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state on March 10, 2020. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency that day.

The community risk level for Michigan recently dropped to “low” after several weeks at “medium.” 

Two counties in the state – Dickinson County and Wayne County – are at a “high” community risk level.

There are 18 counties across the state at “medium” risk level, a decrease of 19 since last week. The state’s remaining 63 counties are at a “low” risk level.

Johns Hopkins University reports that there are about 638.7 million confirmed cases worldwide and 6.6 million deaths. The United States makes up a significant portion of those, as 98.3 million confirmed cases and 1,077,392 deaths have been recorded nationally.

Michigan currently has an overall vaccination rate (one or more doses) of 69%, putting it in the lower half of state vaccination rates. About 61.9% of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 35.8% of the state has received a booster shot.

About 75% of the entire United States population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.