Highlights
Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients in Michigan have decreased over the past week along with a slight drop in cases.
Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients in Michigan have decreased over the past week, along with a slight drop in cases.
As of Wednesday, 4,647 adults are hospitalized in Michigan with confirmed or suspected coronavirus which is down from 4,901 two weeks ago. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also reports that 4,453 adults are hospitalized with confirmed infection which has dropped from 4,578 on Friday. Confirmed adult cases in intensive care units number 783 which is lower than the 795 cases on Friday.
At the five hospitals in the Henry Ford Health System, the number of hospitalized COVID patients dropped from 551 on Monday to 499 on Wednesday.
“This is a very encouraging sign and certainly what we hope will be the beginning of a trend, but it’s obviously too early (to know) and 499 inpatients with COVID is still a staggering number. But we are pleased it’s trending in the right direction,’’ Bob Riney, president of healthcare operations and chief operating officer at Henry Ford, said on Wednesday.
Riney also reported that the number of team members who were out of work due to COVID is at 473 which has dropped from 593 a week ago.
The number of Michigan’s daily COVID-19 cases from Saturday through Wednesday also decreased slightly from the end of last week.
The daily average for that five-day stretch was 17,202 compared to the average of 18,557 on Thursday and Friday.
Michigan public health officials reported on Wednesday 86,009 new COVID-19 cases for Saturday through Wednesday and 501 additional virus deaths. The deaths include 346 deaths identified during a vital records review.
Wednesday’s case total brought the state’s total confirmed number of cases to 1,832,716 and deaths to 28,980 since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services publishes new case, death and vaccination numbers every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Due to the MLK holiday, no data was released on Monday.
Locally, Oakland County had 10.847 new confirmed cases and 36 deaths; Macomb County had 7,744 new confirmed cases and 57 deaths; and Wayne County had 11.688 cases and 60 deaths. In all three counties the number of cases increased but these numbers were over five days instead of the typical two days.
The state’s vaccination coverage rate for residents that have had at least one shot is at 64.4%. The number of residents 5 years of age and older who have received both shots is 58.3% and those with at least one shot is 64.1%. The age categories with the lowest percentages of vaccinated with one shot are 5-11 years 24.36% and 12-15 years 46.57%. The age group with the highest percentage with one shot is 65-74 at 89.11%.
As of Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Michigan ranks 46th among states in COVID-19 transmission with a seven-day case rate of 792.1 per 100,000 (down from 1,321.4 on Friday). In comparison, Rhode Island has a seven-day case rate of 3,078.1 (highest in the country), while it is 464.1 in Maine, the lowest.
Locally according to the CDC, as of Wednesday, Oakland County had a seven-day case rate of 785.39 per 100,000 with a 31.32% positivity rate; Macomb County had a 728.74 seven-day case rate with 35.41% positivity rate; and Wayne County had 927.78 seven-day case rate with a 33.9% positivity rate. The case rates in all three counties are down substantially in the last seven days. Oakland cases are down 46.38%, Macomb cases down 52.42% and Wayne’s number of cases is down 35.34%.
