High COVID numbers this weekend due to data problem

State health officials reported 768 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday. On Saturday they reported 953. Those numbers were sky-high compared to Friday, with just 374 new cases. But that’s due to an error in the state’s reporting system.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said a large number of reports from labs were badly formatted, which means their numbers didn’t get added to Friday’s tally.

“This issue is currently being fixed,” read a message on the state’s coronavirus webpage. “As the valid results enter the system over the next day or two, there will likely be higher than expected numbers of daily case counts.”

The MDHHS said the misreported data shouldn’t affect the seven-day moving average, which stands at 581 new cases of COVID-19 per day as of Sunday.