1/20/21: Average of new COVID infections drops below 2K

Michigan: The state’s average of daily new infections has dropped below 2,000 cases per day for the first time since late October.

On Wednesday, state health officials reported 2,031 new cases of the coronavirus. That brings the seven day moving average to 1,977 new cases per day.

The state also reported 40 new deaths from COVID-19. That brings the average to about 53 deaths per day over the past week – a little higher than yesterday, but half as many as were dying a week-and-a-half ago.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 increased slightly on Wednesday. The state reported 2,077 people being treated for the coronavirus in hospitals in the state. The hospitalization number has been mostly declining since December 1.

Kalamazoo County: County health officials reported 48 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. That brought the seven day average to nearly 47 new cases per day. That’s the lowest the average has been since October 5.

The county reported no new deaths from the virus on Wednesday. Despite that, the average stayed at two deaths per day over the past week.

Bronson Methodist Hospital reported it was treating 25 patients for COVID-19 on Wednesday – four fewer than the previous day. The county’s hospitalization numbers have declined from nearly 50 patients at the beginning of the year.

Western Michigan University reported 13 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday of last week. That was the day before students were allowed to return to campus for in-person classes. More than 1,000 people contracted COVID-19 during the fall semester.

Vaccines: As of Tuesday, nearly 500,000 Michiganders have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Nearly 87,000 people are fully vaccinated after having received both required doses.

Vaccination efforts are still moving slowly, but are beginning to speed up as the state puts a focus on inoculating people age 65 and older. As of Tuesday, Michigan was managing to vaccinate an average of nearly 30,000 people per day.

In Kalamazoo County, nearly 18,000 doses of the vaccine have been given out as of Tuesday, with 3,366 people having received both doses. That accounts for nearly half the 36,100 doses that have been delivered to facilities in the county since December.