Michigan adds 69 COVID deaths, 3,958 cases over two days

Michigan added 69 COVID-19 deaths and 3,958 new COVID-19 cases from the virus on Friday, including totals from Thursday.

Amid concerns about the more contagious delta variant, the tallies from the state Department of Health and Human Services pushed overall totals to 1,054,709 cases and 20,230 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020.

The average number of new confirmed cases is 1,979 for Thursday and Friday.

Michigan's COVID-19 hospitalizations now exceed 1,100 inpatients and new infection numbers have been trending upward for a month.

The state added 12,204 cases and 117 deaths from the virus so far this week.

Last week, the state reported 10,807 new cases, up 14% from the 9,467 cases disclosed over the previous seven-day period.

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

The weekly record of 808 deaths was recorded in mid-December.

► More: Michigan exceeded 20,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted the state's remaining COVID-19 restrictions on June 22 after earlier rolling back many others, including indoor and outdoor capacity limitations.

On Monday, 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 65% of Michigan's population age 16 and older had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday.

State officials have set a goal of reaching 70% and, on Monday, concluded a lottery initiative that gave those who received their vaccinations the chance to win cash prizes.

About 55.3% of Michigan residents 12 years and older are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 transmission is high enough in all but two of Michigan's 83 counties that an overwhelming majority of Michigan residents should be wearing masks while in public under federal guidelines, according to the latest CDC data.