Detroit Councilman Coleman Young contracts COVID-19

Detroit City Councilman Coleman Young II has been infected with a breakthrough COVID-19 case, representatives announced Monday.

"Having been vaccinated and boosted, his only symptom is a dry cough," the City Council said in a statement. "He is self-quarantined and taking oral treatment."

Young, a former state lawmaker, was elected last year to an at-large seat on the council.

His diagnosis came the same day U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he had tested positive for the virus after speaking at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island on Wednesday and traveling to Saginaw for an announcement about rail investments. 

The Detroit Regional Chamber reported Monday that 15 of the 1,347 attendees had tested positive for COVID in the days following the event but were experiencing mild or no symptoms. Proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test were required to attend the conference, and only 14 people used the test option, the chamber said.

Masks were not required at the event.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends residents wear masks in 10 of Michigan's 83 counties, including Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, which are considered to have "high" community transmission levels.

The advice comes even as the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' most recent virus case update reported infections have declined compared to the previous six weeks.

The state reported Michigan has had 2,547,366 cases and 36,407 deaths since the virus was first detected here in March 2020.