Michigan has confirmed more than 75,000 COVID-19 cases since early March

Lansing — The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Michigan moved past 75,000 on Wednesday as the state reported 523 new cases and six new deaths linked to the virus.

The state's overall case count reached 75,248 and the death toll hit 6,141, according to the daily report from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

After the virus peaked here in April, state health officials have been monitoring upticks in new cases and the percentage of COVID-19 tests bringing positive results in recent weeks. However, the numbers of deaths and hospitalizations linked to the virus have remained relatively low.

As of Friday, the state Department of Health and Human Services listed 55,162 recoveries from COVID-19, people who are still alive 30 days after the onset of symptoms.

Last week brought an 11-week high for new cases with 4,232 new cases confirmed over the seven-day period. So far, this week is on pace for fewer cases than last week.

But the percentage of tests bringing positive results — a key metric for measuring the prevalence of the virus — has been trending upward since early June. Over the first three days of the week, about 3.7% of the tests have been positive. Last week, about 3.5% of the tests were positive.

The state confirmed its first cases of COVID-19 on March 10.

As of Wednesday, Michigan continued to rank 13th nationally for the number of COVID-19 cases and seventh for the number of deaths linked to the virus, according to tracking by Johns Hopkins University.

cmauger@detroitnews.com