12/29/20: 3,414 new cases of COVID, deaths rise slightly

Michigan: State health officials reported 3,414 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. That led to a slight bump in new infection rates in Michigan that have been steadily declining otherwise. The seven day moving average increased by 47 to 2,491 new infections per day.

The state also reported 193 new deaths from the coronavirus on Tuesday, with 105 of them coming from a review of previous death records. That caused another slight bump in average death numbers. The state is averaging 82.43 deaths per day over the previous week – down from a high of 116.86 deaths per day a week and a half ago, but up about three from Monday’s average.

Kalamazoo County: Kalamazoo’s new infection and death rates have dropped significantly over the past month.

County health officials reported 39 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the county average to about 56 new cases per day. The county’s new infection numbers peaked on December 2 with 150 new cases per day.

Kalamazoo County also reported six new deaths from the virus on Tuesday. That increased the county’s average to 1.71 deaths per day, which is still a marked decline from nearly four deaths per day on December 16.

Hospitalizations: The number of people being treated for COVID-19 in Michigan hospitals increased on Tuesday for the first time in four weeks. The state reported 2,906 coronavirus patients on Tuesday, nearly 100 more than on Monday.

Kalamazoo’s Bronson Methodist Hospital also recorded an increase in coronavirus patients. On Tuesday, the hospital reported 43 COVID-19 patients – ten more than the previous day. Kalamazoo’s other hospital doesn’t publicly report patient numbers.

Vaccines: Michigan is expected to receive more than 256,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines this week and next. That includes 137,475 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 119,800 doses of Moderna’s vaccine.

That comes after much hassle over the number of doses that would be made available to the state. Miscommunication at the federal level led to the state receiving tens of thousands fewer doses than expected over the past couple weeks.

As of Monday, more than 71,000 people had gotten the first of two doses of a vaccine in Michigan. That included 3,424 people in Kalamazoo County. The county had received roughly 11,000 doses of both vaccines as of Tuesday and is steadily administering them to frontline health care workers, and staff and residents of long-term care facilities.