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Hillsdale County's COVID cases fall 21.7%; Michigan cases surge 46.2%

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
Making Sacrifices 2 of 8
Dimitri screams with delight when he gets the answer.

Luis and Irene Ferrolho have spent most of the past 15 months of the pandemic at home with their children, twins Alexandra and Dimitri, 8 years old. Because Dimitri suffers from severe disability due to being born premature, they can’t risk exposure to the Covid-19 virus. Irene had to quit her job and help the children with virtual learning and therapy and Luis does his work online from home. While they have grown closer to each other, they do look forward to less isolation when it is safer for Dimitri

New coronavirus cases leaped in Michigan in the week ending May 15, rising 46.2% as 27,705 cases were reported. The previous week had 18,945 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Hillsdale County reported 36 cases and minus one death in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 46 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 10,453 cases and 203 deaths.

Michigan ranked 14th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 21.4% from the week before, with 605,127 cases reported. With 3% of the country's population, Michigan had 4.58% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 47 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

The worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Washtenaw County with 521 cases per 100,000 per week; Clinton County with 452; and Oakland County with 373. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Wayne County, with 5,658 cases; Oakland County, with 4,686 cases; and Macomb County, with 3,038. Weekly case counts rose in 76 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Cases fell in seven counties, with the best declines in Hillsdale County, with 36 cases from 46 a week earlier; in Montmorency County, with 5 cases from 13; and in Arenac County, with 25 cases from 32.

Michigan ranked 35th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 67% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77.7%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending May 11, Michigan reported administering another 89,246 vaccine doses, including 9,262 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 77,455 vaccine doses, including 6,524 first doses. In all, Michigan reported it has administered 15,906,503 total doses.

In Michigan, 76 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 62 people were reported dead.

A total of 2,472,596 people in Michigan have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 36,140 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 82,468,606 people have tested positive and 999,602 people have died.

Note: In the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus data, cases and deaths for the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Federal Correctional Institution separately from Michigan counties.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Michigan's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, May 15.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 1,260
  • The week before that: 1,061
  • Four weeks ago: 628

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 49,753
  • The week before that: 44,912
  • Four weeks ago: 37,527

 

Hospitals in 45 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 29 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 41 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.