COVID-19 is on the rise in Michigan, at what now appears to be an accelerating rate.
COVID cases in Michigan have been trending up pretty steadily since July. But for a while, it looked like the state might have escaped the worst of the surge caused by the Delta variant.
That no longer seems to be the case. The state reported 15,878 new confirmed cases in the past two days, and 83 deaths. That number is somewhat inflated though. Due to a state processing delay, some cases that should have been reported Wednesday were reported Friday instead.
Over the past week, the state has reported an average of 4,439 cases per day. For reference, that’s about where things stood in early November and late March, on the upside of the state’s prior fall and spring waves. The test positivity rate is now above 16%.
Many hospitals are also starting to fill up again. 2,713 Michigan adults are currently hospitalized with confirmed COVID—a roughly 26% increase since the start of November.
It remains unclear how much vaccination will tamp down the peak of this wave. Currently, just under 60% of Michiganders five and older have gotten at least one COVID shot.
