State reports 49 new COVID outbreaks at schools

Michigan health officials on Monday reported 49 new outbreaks of COVID-19 at schools in the state. That’s in addition to 143 outbreaks that have been ongoing in some cases since September.

A total of 6,606 staff and students have been infected in outbreaks listed on the state’s school outbreak tracker webpage. The bulk of the infections – 5791 – come from colleges and universities, which have been fighting to bring new infections under control since classes began in August and September.

Kalamazoo County: There are four ongoing outbreaks in Kalamazoo County. Western Michigan University has had new cases of COVID-19 every day since students began returning to campus in mid-August. As of November 4, WMU had 816 cases of the coronavirus.

Other schools with ongoing outbreaks are Kalamazoo College with 24 infections, Comstock Elementary with three infections, and Heritage Christian Academy in Oshtemo with six infections.