12/16/20: COVID deaths top 11K

Michigan: More than 11,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Michigan as of Wednesday. The state reported 83 new deaths from the virus bringing the cumulative total to 11,018. That comes just eight days after the state passed 10,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

At the same time, the state’s new COVID-19 infections are continuing to decline. State health officials reported 4,037 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the seven day moving average down to 4,507 new cases per day.

Kalamazoo County: New case counts and deaths are both rising in Kalamazoo County. Officials reported 117 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, raising the average to nearly 85 new cases per day over the past week.

The county also reported one new death from the virus, bringing the county’s seven day average to a new high of 3.86 deaths per day.

Hospitalizations: The state reported 3,571 people being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals on Wednesday. That’s 103 fewer than on Tuesday, continuing the trend of declining hospitalizations in the state. Hospitalizations have been declining steadily since the first day of the month.

Hospitalizations seem to have remained fairly steady in Kalamazoo County. The only Kalamazoo hospital to publicly report patient counts – Bronson Methodist Hospital – recorded 36 COVID-19 patients on Wednesday, two fewer than the previous day.