9/28/20: 1,308 new COVID cases on Sunday and Monday

State health officials reported 1,308 new cases of COVID-19 over the course of Sunday and Monday, bringing the seven day moving average to 761 new cases per day.

The state also reported eight new deaths during the two day period. The state is averaging about 9 deaths per day from the coronavirus.

Many of the new cases have been centered in counties in the western part of the Upper Peninsula. Houghton, Iron, Menominee, and Delta counties are all experiencing dramatic surges in new COVID-19 infections relative to their small populations. Iron County has had a 400% increase in new infections over the past two weeks.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has said she is considering tightening restrictions in the U.P. Presently, the entire U.P. is in Phase 5 of the governor’s MI Safe Start plan, meaning they are containing the spread of the virus. Most of the state is in Phase 4.

Kalamazoo County reported 51 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the course of Sunday and Monday. The county reported an additional 2 probable cases based on antibody testing. One more person has died from the coronavirus, bringing the countywide total to 94.

Kalamazoo County is averaging about 31 new cases of the virus per day, or 16.6 new cases per 100,000 people. That has prompted Harvard’s Global Health Institute to label the county “orange.” That means the county is at risk of an accelerated spread of the virus.