10/11/20: 1,095 new COVID cases Friday, 1,522 Saturday

State health officials reported 1,095 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and another 1,522 cases on Saturday. That brings the seven day moving average to 1,020 new cases per day – the highest infection average since April.

Health officials also reported seven new deaths from the virus on Friday and 15 on Saturday. Ten of Saturday’s deaths were attributable to previous death records.

Infection numbers are rising in several parts of the state – most notably in the Upper Peninsula where 126 people tested positive on Saturday. Eight of the 15 U.P. counties are coded “red” according to a metric developed by the Harvard Global Health Institute. Red indicates that infection rates could lead to out-of-control spread of the coronavirus.

Kalamazoo County is coming ever-closer to the red. The county is still coded “orange,” indicating accelerated spread of the coronavirus.

Kalamazoo County reported 133 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the course of Friday and Saturday. The county reported another 30 probable cases based on antibody testing. The county is experiencing 21.4 new cases of COVID-19 per day per 100,000 people. The threshold for being coded “red” is 25 new cases per day per 100,000 people.

Western Michigan University reported 45 new cases of COVID-19 over the first three days of last week. The university reports coronavirus data on Wednesdays and Fridays. WMU has had 592 infections as of October 7 when it reported an average positivity rate of 10.3%.

Meanwhile, 104,271 Michiganders have officially recovered from COVID-19, according to state health officials. Recovery is defined as any person who tested positive for the coronavirus who is still alive after 30 days.