Michigan surpasses 40,000 COVID deaths

Michigan is reporting 8,831 new COVID-19 cases, according to a weekly report the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released Tuesday.

That’s a slight drop from the last report, when the state said there were 8,933 new cases for the week.

A total of 2,938,443 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the department. In total, 40,085 people have died from the virus, with 113 deaths reported on Wednesday compared to 275 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 985 COVID-19 hospitalizations across Michigan hospitals, an increase of 15 from the previous week. The state also reported that 122 COVID-19 patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), which is down from 149 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.” 

No counties in the state are at a “high” community risk level after two – Dickinson County and Wayne County – had been last week.

There are 12 counties across the state at “medium” risk level, a decrease of six since last week. The state’s remaining 71 counties are at a “low” risk level.

Johns Hopkins University reports that there are about 642.1 million confirmed cases worldwide and 6.6 million deaths. The United States makes up a significant portion of those, as 98.6 million confirmed cases and 1,079,678 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 62% of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 35.9% 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.