10/28/20: 3,271 new COVID cases, 18 deaths

State health officials reported 3,271 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday – just 67 short of Saturday’s record-breaking case count. The seven day moving average continues to rise ever higher, reaching 2,365 new cases per day.

The state reported 18 new deaths on Wednesday. Michigan is now averaging about 24 new deaths per day.

Kalamazoo County reported 69 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday bringing the county-wide average to 78.3 new cases per day. The new case numbers have settled down to between 70 and 89 new cases per day over the past five days after bouncing between 29 and 133 last week. The county reported no new deaths on Wednesday after reporting four deaths on Tuesday.

Western Michigan University is a rare bright spot in the coronavirus landscape. The university reported just nine new cases during the last two days of last week. For comparison, WMU reported 34 new cases during the same period the previous week. The university was averaging a 3.2% positivity rate as of October 23.