The COVID wave is showing signs of slowing down in Michigan

Here are some reports.

COVID-19 cases in Michigan

• COVID-19 cases in Michigan have been declining for a second week in a row, but the proportion of new cases per day has more than quintupled since early October.
• Of the 1,290 active and reported outbreaks in Michigan, an estimated 445 are for seniors / beneficiaries, 231 for K-12 schools, 152 for manufacturing / construction, 79 for health care, 75 for office facilities, and 54 for restaurants and bars. Of the first six exposure zones, restaurants and bars are the only settings where it is particularly difficult to identify a COVID epidemic.
• Michigan residents between the ages of 30 and 49 still have the highest number of new viral cases per million inhabitants. Specifically, new COVID cases per day have been highest in 30-39 year olds on average in recent weeks.
  • Over the past four weeks, however, the number of COVID cases per million in all age groups in the state has decreased.
• The follow-up of investigations and the investigation of COVID-19 cases remain stable, but the numbers are particularly low due to the recent influx of new cases.

COVID-19 test in Michigan

• The percentage of COVID-19 testing in Michigan has risen to 14.4% in the last 3 weeks.
• The number of daily diagnostic tests has dropped to an average of 51,000 per day over the past week.
• The COVID-19 testing lead time in Michigan averaged approximately 2.9 days between November 18 and December 2.

Michigan COVID Hospital Care

• More than 18.7% of available inpatient beds were spent with COVID patients in Michigan last week.
• Although viral hospitalizations have been declining or declining at high levels across Michigan over the past week, COVID-19 hospital care is still approaching the numbers provided in the spring at the start of the pandemic.
• Michigan has the 6th highest rate of hospital care as a percentage of all beds and the 7th highest number of COVID patients in the intensive care unit.
• ICU occupancy currently exceeds 80% in five of Michigan’s eight regions.

COVID-19 deaths in Michigan

• Michigan’s COVID mortality rate is currently 8.3 deaths per million population / day.
• The COVID-19 mortality rate in Michigan has begun to slow, but the current number of deaths is still five times the number of deaths in early October.
• Viral deaths are higher among white residents, but health officials say there is some concern about the increase in deaths among Native American and Spanish populations.
• Michigan residents over the age of 80 still have the highest viral mortality per million inhabitants. Recent deaths are largely attributable to individuals over the age of 60.

See more: How to Track Michigan COVID-19 Data

While the data may turn in a promising direction, the number of COVID cases, hospitalizations, and deaths remains significant throughout the state of Michigan. Experts fear that those numbers will continue to rise as Americans stay indoors this season due to winter weather and festive gatherings.

Viral deaths in Michigan are a lagging indicator of the increase in coronavirus cases in November. Michigan officials do not believe they have yet to see the full impact of Thanksgiving gatherings and travel for the state.

Read: Michigan extends COVID-19 restrictions to 12 days to assess Thanksgiving impact

Wednesday’s report covered the controversial topic of bars and restaurants and their role in the viruses that have spread in Michigan.

Bars and restaurants were among the businesses hardest hit by the virus and the associated shutdowns and restrictions. In Michigan, restaurants have been banned from offering indoor dining services since mid-November in response to growing coronavirus cases and spread, as they did at the beginning of the pandemic.

The indoor eating ban expired on Dec. 8, but Michigan officials announced an extension of MDHHS restrictions to further prevent the spread of viruses. Indoor dining is prohibited in Michigan until Dec. 20.

More: Michigan’s COVID restrictions have been extended until Dec. 20: What you need to know

Many Michigan restaurant owners have been critical of the state’s ban on indoor dining, particularly because other businesses, such as retail, can operate under security measures. Critics have argued that the data do not support the theory that viral outbreaks are linked to indoor meals or bars and restaurants in general.

However, health experts say the data support that COVID epidemics are linked to bars and restaurants where people congregate and take off their masks. The Lyon-Callo report on Wednesday includes the results of five different studies that claim to show a link between the spread of the coronavirus and indoor eating.

The studies, which Michigan officials also refer to on Monday, include research from various parts of the pandemic from South Korea, Stanford University, JP Morgan and Johns Hopkins University, Centers for Disease Prevention and Control and the Journal Nature.

“Businesses where people come together from different households, inside, remove their masks from different households, such as places to eat or drink, are uniquely at risk at the moment,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer said on Monday. – It’s not the restaurant’s fault. It’s not the bar’s fault. This is not our fault. This is only the nature of COVID-19. “

Read: “Science is settled”: Michigan health officials protect food service closure in restaurants

Lyon-Callo reports an estimated 54 restaurants and bars out of the 1,290 epidemics currently reported in Michigan. The settings of restaurants and bars were seen as places that were “harder to identify” if an outbreak occurred there.

“A number of factors, including the fact that it is unable to effectively track contacts under certain circumstances, cannot significantly report epidemics,” the report reads. “These (data) do not give a complete picture of the epidemics in Michigan, and the lack of identified epidemics in a given environment is in no way a proof that there is in fact no epidemic in that environment.”

Wednesday’s report also found that crimes fell 16% this year amid the pandemic compared to 2019, but aggravated assaults, homicides and domestic violent crime have all increased since last year.

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