Michigan reports 18,945 new COVID-19 cases, 62 deaths over the last week

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported Wednesday that a total of 2,444,891 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 and 36,064 have died from the virus — an additional 18,945 cases and 62 deaths since last week.

The new numbers combine all confirmed and probable cases and deaths since last Wednesday, as DHHS now published COVID-19 data just once weekly and has discontinued reporting on the subset of deaths identified via vital records reviews.

Actual case numbers may be higher due to a reliance on at-home tests, which often do not have results reported to the state.

The virus has been detected in all of Michigan’s 83 counties. The state’s COVID-19 fatality rate is currently at 1.6%.

As of Wednesday, the state reports a total of 708 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospitalizations across Michigan hospitals, with 94 of those in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and an average bed occupancy of 79%.

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.

Johns Hopkins University reports that there are about 515 million confirmed cases worldwide and 6.2 million deaths. The United States makes up a significant portion of those, as 81.5 million confirmed cases and 996,030 deaths have been recorded nationally.

Michigan currently has an overall vaccination rate (one or more doses) of 67%, putting it in the bottom third of state vaccination rates. About 60% of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 32.6% has received at least one booster.

About 78% of the entire United States population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.