10/19/20: 2,909 new cases over Sunday and Monday

State health officials reported 2,909 new infections over the course of Sunday and Monday. That brings the seven day moving average to 1,620 new infections per day, which is just six shy of the average at the peak of the pandemic on April 7.

Unlike the peak of the pandemic, deaths are not at an all-time high. The state reported 21 new deaths on Sunday and Monday. That brings the average up to 19 deaths per day – a high number compared to the past few months, but nothing close to the peak of 145 on April 16.

While deaths remain relatively low, the state’s positivity rate is increasing. On Sunday, 6.13% of tests came back positive. Health experts target a 3% positivity rate as the rate at which the spread of the coronavirus is under control. The state hovered around that rate for most of the summer before it began to climb over the past week.

The number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 or suspected symptoms of the disease is also rising. On Monday, 1,134 people were being treated in a hospital in Michigan. That’s up from 941 a week ago.

Kalamazoo County is still in the “red” according to a metric developed by the Harvard Global Health Institute to measure the risk of disease transmission. The county reported 67 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday and Monday – a steep decline from last week. The county is still averaging almost 59 new infections per day. One person died from the virus on Sunday or Monday.