10/14/20: 1,359 new cases of COVID, 13 deaths

State health officials reported 1,359 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. The seven day moving average continues to increase with 1,174 new cases per day on average.

The state also reported 13 new deaths from the virus on Wednesday. The state is averaging more than 13 new deaths per day.

Kalamazoo County reported 26 new confirmed infections on Wednesday as well as seven new probable cases based on antibody tests. Two new deaths were reported on Tuesday bringing the countywide total to 98 deaths.

Kalamazoo County is now coded “red” according to a metric developed by the Harvard Global Health Institute. That indicates that transmission rates are getting out of hand. Kalamazoo County is averaging 25.3 new infections per day per 100,000 people.

The counties surrounding Kalamazoo are also experiencing increases in coronavirus numbers. Calhoun County has been coded “red” for about a week now with 27.2 new cases per day per 100,000 people on Wednesday. Allegan, Van Buren, and Branch counties all moved into the “orange” category indicating accelerated spread of the virus.

Western Michigan University’s latest biweekly report shows declining infection numbers. The university reported 29 new infections on Thursday and Friday of last week. As of October 9, WMU was averaging about 19 new infections per day. Meanwhile, the school’s positivity rate has declined significantly to an average of 8.8%. That’s down from a high of 21.3% on September 14.