Michigan COVID cases decline for third straight week

COVID-19 cases again declined over the past week in Michigan with 9,793 new reported cases.

That’s according to statistics released Tuesday by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released Tuesday.

It was the third week in a row that statewide cases saw a decline after state health officials reported 10,927 cases on Dec. 27 and 14,323 cases on Dec. 20.

DHHS reports a total of 2,998,447 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. In total, 40,836 people have died from the virus with 69 deaths reported on Tuesday compared to 110 the week prior.

The virus has been detected in all of Michigan’s 83 counties. The state’s COVID-19 fatality rate remains at 1.4% as of Tuesday.

Data on outbreaks and hospitalizations will not be available until later Wednesday due to the holidays. 

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 remains at “medium” following its increase from “low” in mid-December.

There are five counties at “high” risk level: Alger, Delta, Luce, Marquette and Schoolcraft counties, all in the Upper Peninsula.

There are 33 counties across the state at “medium” risk level, a decrease over last week’s 46. The remaining 45 counties are at a “low” risk level.

Johns Hopkins University reports that there are about 661 million confirmed cases worldwide and nearly 6.7 million deaths. The United States makes up a significant portion of those, as 100.7 million confirmed cases and 1,092,679 deaths have been recorded nationally.

Michigan currently has an overall vaccination rate (one or more doses) of 69.3%, putting it in the lower half of state vaccination rates. About 62% of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated.

About 80% of the entire United States population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.