11/25/20: 4,273 new COVID cases, 73 deaths

Hospitalizations: The number of people being treated for COVID-19 in Michigan hospitals declined for the first time in over a month. The state reported 4,063 COVID-19 patients on Wednesday, 24 less than on Tuesday. It should be noted the number of coronavirus patients in Michigan is still higher than at any point during the spring when the pandemic prompted the shutdown of most activities in the state.

Bronson Methodist Hospital reported 47 COVID-19 patients on Wednesday – also higher than at any point in the spring but also a reduction over previous days. The hospital is at 80% capacity. Kalamazoo’s other hospital does not publicly report patient numbers.

Michigan: State officials reported 4,273 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. That’s the lowest number of new cases in Michigan since the beginning of the month. The seven day moving average declined to 6,710 new cases per day.

The state also reported 73 new deaths from the virus. The state’s death rate climbed to 82 new deaths per day.

Kalamazoo County: County health officials reported 95 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. The county is averaging 141 new cases per day.

The county also reported two new deaths from the virus. Kalamazoo County is averaging two deaths per day.

WMU: Western Michigan University reported 40 new cases of COVID-19 during the last two days of last week. The latest cases come just a day after new COVID-19 rules issued by the state health department went into effect. The new rules suspend in-person classes for all students in high school and college.

Positivity Rate: The state and county positivity rates remained flat on Tuesday. In Michigan, an average of 12.9% of COVID-19 tests came back positive each day, while in Kalamazoo County 10.69% of tests came back positive on average.