Michigan adds 7,856 cases, 56 deaths from COVID-19 over three days

Michigan added 7,856 cases and 56 deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, including totals from Saturday and Sunday.

The latest figures from the state Department of Health and Human Services push the overall totals to 1,112,490 confirmed cases and 21,918 deaths since the virus was first detected in the state in March 2020.

The state averaged 2,618 cases per day over the three days. Of the latest deaths reported, 29 were identified during a vital records review, state health officials noted. 

Last week the state added 23,109 cases and 299 deaths from the virus, a slight decrease in cases, but an increase in deaths, which have been trending upwards for more than 13 weeks. 

In the week prior, the state added 26,105 cases and 250 deaths. In the beginning of October, the state logged 24,791 additional cases and 237 deaths from the virus. 

The weekly record of 50,892 cases was set Nov. 15-21. The second-highest weekly total was 47,316 Nov. 22-28.

The proportion of kids getting sick with COVID-19 in the state also is increasing. In Michigan, over 50% of children hospitalized have no reported underlying conditions.

Outbreaks have steadily been increasing with more than 400 in K-12 schools last week, which have led to an increase in Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. MIS-C is a condition in children where multiple organ systems become inflamed or dysfunctional. There are 172 cases in the state, the majority, or 70.9%, are in the ICU. There have been five deaths.

Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, which health experts hope will bolster confidence in vaccinations.

About 68.5% of Michigan's population age 16 and older had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Saturday.

State officials set a goal of reaching 70% and hosted a lottery initiative to give those who received their vaccinations the chance to win cash prizes.

About 59% of Michigan residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated.

Roll out of the vaccine for 5-11 year-olds could occur in early November and more than 840,000 children of that age are in Michigan.

The state health department estimates less than 1% of vaccinated people in Michigan are contracting the virus.

Michigan's latest data

Michigan remains at a high transmission rate. The case rate here has been increasing for three and a half months. 

As of last week, only three states had reported more cases of COVID-19 than Michigan over a seven-day span, based on state data. 

Overall, Michigan ranks 12th nationally for new cases per population over the last seven days, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two weeks earlier, the state ranked 20th.

Statewide positivity last week climbed to 11.3% from 11.2% the week prior, according to data from Oct. 19.

About 99% of positive tests available for sequencing in Michigan were identified as the delta variant over the last four weeks.

There were 76 new outbreaks at K-12 schools in Michigan in the past week for a total of 412 ongoing outbreaks. About 7% of school districts have rescinded their school mask policies bringing the total to 42% of school districts mandating masks.

Case rates among children are higher in counties where school districts do not have mask policies, according to the state health department.

About 10.2% of hospital beds are filled with COVID-19 patients, up from 9.3% the week prior. 

The majority of patients hospitalized from the virus are unvaccinated, the state health department has said.

As of Oct.18, Michigan has more than 17,583 confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants — the majority, or 13,667 cases, being B.1.1.7 — the "alpha" variant.

The delta variant accounts for 5,916 known cases and has spread statewide.

The virus is blamed for more than 716,000 deaths and 45.3 million confirmed infections in the United States.

The state considered 962,955 people recovered from the virus as of Oct. 15.