Coronavirus in Michigan: Heres what to know Jan. 29, 2021 – WDIV ClickOnDetroit

January 30, 2021

DETROIT The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 557,883 as of Friday, including 14,497 deaths, state officials report.

Fridays update includes 1,774 new cases and six additional deaths. On Thursday, the state reported a total of 556,109 cases and 14,491 deaths.

New COVID-19 cases have plateaued and deaths are starting to slow. Testing has been steady with more than 40,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the 7-day positive rate average around 6%. Hospitalizations continue to decline over the last several weeks.

Michigans 7-day moving average for daily cases was 1,631 on Friday -- the lowest since October. The 7-day death average was 56 on Friday. The states fatality rate is 2.6%. The state also reports active cases, which were listed at 80,400 on Friday -- near the lowest its been since November.

According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 25.8 million cases have been reported in the U.S., with more than 434,600 deaths reported from the virus as of Jan. 29.

Worldwide, more than 101.8 million people have been confirmed infected and more than 2.1 million have died as of Jan. 29. More than 55 million have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher, because of limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.

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Michigans top doctor reported mostly positive news Monday when she updated the states most important COVID-19 metrics.

Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said the states metrics are showing signs of improvement.

READ: 8 takeaways from Gov. Whitmers update on COVID-19 in Michigan

Michigans case rate is at 203 cases per million people, she said. Thats down 72% since the November peak.

The states percent positivity is at 6.2%, which is also coming down, according to Khaldun.

So thats a good sign, she said.

The percentage of inpatient beds currently occupied by COVID-19 patients is at 9.2%, she said.

New COVID variant in Michigan: 13 cases in Washtenaw County, 4 cases in Wayne County

One cause of concern is the new variant of the virus. Officials have confirmed 17 cases of that variant, as of Monday. Khaldun is worried about how the spread of the variant will affect the case, positivity and hospitalization rates.

Michigan restaurants will officially be allowed to resume indoor dining Feb. 1 with a curfew and other COVID-19 safety restrictions in place.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released its next COVID-19 order Friday. The revised restrictions go into effect Feb. 1 and last three weeks, until Feb. 21.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the order will allow indoor dining at restaurants, concessions at entertainment venues such as casinos, movie theaters and stadiums, personal services requiring mask removal and non-residential gatherings of up to 10 people from two households.

The pause has worked, Whitmer said. The efforts we have made together to protect our families, frontline workers and hospitals have dramatically reduced cases and we have saved lives. Now, we are confident that starting Feb. 1, restaurants can resume indoor dining with safety measures in place.

We are pleased to see the improvements in case rates, hospitalizations and percent positivity that have allowed us to reopen more activities, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at MDHHS. However, we must remain vigilant, especially since we now have a new more easily transmitted variant of this virus present in our state.

Michigans risk for a coronavirus outbreak has recently decreased -- but has not altogether vanished -- nearly one month into the new year, according to data from Covid Act Now.

The state of Michigan is now labeled as high risk for a coronavirus outbreak by Covid Act Now -- a group of technologists, epidemiologists, health experts and public policy leaders that monitors and identifies each states risk level for a COVID-19 outbreak.

At the beginning of 2021, Michigan -- like much of the country -- was considered to be experiencing an active or imminent outbreak, which is a critical risk level. As of Thursday, Jan. 21, the states risk level has decreased due to fewer new COVID-19 cases reported each day, as the remainder of the country continues to struggle with virus spread.

Michigan is one of only five states labeled as high risk for an outbreak, which is the orange color on Covid Act Nows national map. Three states -- California, Arizona and South Carolina -- are colored maroon, meaning they are experiencing a severe coronavirus outbreak. All remaining states, except Hawaii, are colored crimson on the map, which is considered the critical risk level. Hawaii is labeled as experiencing slow disease growth.

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