9/30/20: 1,054 new COVID cases, 11 deaths

State health officials reported 1,054 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday pushing the seven day moving average to 867 new cases per day, the highest average since early May.

The past seven days have seen an uptick in new case counts, including three days last week with more than 900 new cases per day.

The state also reported 11 new deaths from the coronavirus. The death toll has stayed stable with around 10 new deaths per day.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to hit the western part of the upper peninsula especially hard with multiple counties being marked “red” according to a metric developed by the Harvard Global Health Institute. Iron County is particularly hard-hit with an average of almost 115 new cases per day per 100,000 people.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer visited Houghton County on Tuesday to urge residents to use face masks and take other precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.

Kalamazoo County is still coded “orange” indicating an accelerated spread of the virus with between 10 and 24 new infections per day per 100,000 people.

Kalamazoo County confirmed 42 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday with another 12 probable cases based on antibody testing. The county also recorded two new deaths from the virus bringing the cumulative death toll to 96 since the beginning of the pandemic. Kalamazoo County is averaging about 34 new confirmed cases per day based on the past seven days.