5/7/21: State passes 18,000 COVID deaths

Michigan: More than 18,000 people in Michigan have now died from COVID-19.

The state passed the grim milestone on Thursday, after officials announced 115 new deaths from the coronavirus. That caused the seven day moving average to rise by one to nearly 68.5 deaths per day.

At the same time, state officials reported 3,514 new cases of COVID-19. That bumped the seven day average down a little to 2,934 new cases per day.

Hospitalizations are continuing to decline in Michigan. Officials reported on Thursday that 2,767 people were being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals in the state. That’s down 153 from Wednesday’s total.

And the state’s average positivity rate fell below 10% for the first time since late March. In the week ending Tuesday, 9.75% of COVID-19 tests conducted in the state returned a positive result.

Kalamazoo County: The average of new cases actually rose slightly on Thursday as the county’s daily average of deaths declined.

Health officials reported 79 new cases of COVID-19, pushing the seven day average up by less than one to 81.86 new cases per day.

And there were no new deaths from the coronavirus reported on Thursday, so the average dropped to 1.14 deaths per day over the past week.

Hospitalizations declined in Kalamazoo County over the past several days. There were 94 people being treated for COVID-19 in the county’s two hospitals on Thursday, according to state reports. That’s 14 fewer than on Monday.

However, both hospitals reported being closer to capacity on Thursday. Bronson Methodist Hospital reported being at 95% capacity, while Ascension Borgess Hospital was operating at 90% capacity.

Kalamazoo County’s average positivity rate is continuing to decline, albeit slowly. In the week ending Tuesday, 11.70% of COVID-19 tests returned positive results. That’s still the lowest it’s been in the county since late March.