New Michigan COVID cases drop to under 6,000 in last week

Michigan is reporting 5,989 new COVID-19 cases, according to a weekly report the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released Tuesday.

That’s a decrease from the last report issued March 14, when the state said there were 7,438 new cases for the week.

A total of 3,077,552 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the department. In total, 42,367 people have died from the virus, with 89 deaths reported on Tuesday compared to 73 last week. 

However, as home testing has increased since 2021, 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 781 adults and 23 pediatric patients were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases across Michigan hospitals, which is up from the previous week’s totals of 746 adults and 24 children.

The state also reported that 77 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), which is one more than last week.

The first two cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state on March 10, 2020. 

The community risk level for Michigan is at “low” following its increase to “medium” in early January.

Three counties in the state – Alger, Alpena and Marquette – are at a “high” risk level. Seven counties – Alcona, Delta, Luce, Monroe, Montmorency, Presque Isle and Schoolcraft – are at a “medium” risk level. The state’s remaining 73 counties are at a “low” risk level.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports there have been 760.3 million confirmed cases worldwide and more than 6.8 million deaths. The United States makes up a significant portion of those, as 103.8 million confirmed cases and 1,121,512 deaths have been recorded nationally, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Previously, the Advance used data about global and U.S. cases and deaths from Johns Hopkins University. As of March 10, the school stopped collecting and reporting COVID-19 data. 

Michigan currently has an overall vaccination rate (one or more doses) of 69.5%, putting it in the lower half of state vaccination rates. About 62.4% of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated. Just 36.6% of the state has received a booster dose, while 17.3% have received a Bivalent dose.

About 81% of the entire United States population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.