10/18/20: 2,015 new cases Friday, 1,791 Saturday

State health officials reported 2,015 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and another 1,791 on Saturday. That brings the seven day moving average to 1,463 new cases per day – the state’s highest average since April 9.

The state also reported 14 deaths on Friday and 23 deaths on Saturday. Of Saturday’s deaths, 15 were from a review of previous death records. The state is averaging 17 deaths per day – the state’s highest average since June 14.

Infections continue to plague the Upper Peninsula where 11 of the 15 counties are coded “red” according to a metric developed by the Harvard Global Health Institute.

Kalamazoo County is also in the red according to that same metric. The same is true for surrounding counties: Calhoun County, Cass County, and St. Joseph County. Being coded red indicates that new infection rates are at a tipping point and recommends stay-at-home orders be used.

Kalamazoo County officials reported a record 97 new confirmed infections on Friday and 72 on Saturday. The county also reported 27 probable infections over the same time period. The county is averaging 57 new confirmed infections per day.

Kalamazoo County also reported one new death related to COVID-19 on Saturday.

The new case numbers at Western Michigan University are continuing to decline. The university on Friday reported 48 new cases of COVID-19 over the first three days of last week. That’s a decrease from 65 new infections during the same time period the previous week. WMU has an average positivity rate 7% as of October 14.