Michigan adds 8,078 cases, 122 deaths from COVID-19 over two days

Michigan added 8,078 cases and 122 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday, including cases from Thursday.

The latest figures from the state Department of Health and Human Services push the overall totals to 1,128,435 confirmed cases and 22,182 deaths since the virus was first detected in the state in March 2020.

The state averaged 4,039 cases per day over the two days. Of the latest deaths reported, 64 were identified during a vital records review, state health officials noted. 

So far this week, the state has added 23,801 cases and 244 deaths, including those identified in vital records reviews.

Last week the state added 23,109 cases and 299 deaths from the virus. The totals marked a slight decrease in cases, but an increase in deaths which have been trending upward 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 480 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- to 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. 

Only two states had reported more cases of COVID-19 than Michigan over a seven-day span, based on state data. 

Statewide positivity increased to 11.4% from 11.3% the week prior, according to data from Tuesday.

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 10.5% of hospital beds are filled with COVID-19 patients, up from 10.2% the week prior. 

As of Wednesday, 2,100 people are hospitalized with the virus. At least 570 are in the ICU and 316 are on ventilators. There has been an average of 1,822 emergency room visits related to COVID every day in the state.

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

As of Monday, 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 7,853 known cases and has spread statewide.

The virus is blamed for more than 743,000 deaths and 45.8 million confirmed infections in the United States.

The state considered 982,288 people recovered from the virus as of Friday. 

srahal@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @SarahRahal_