6/2/21: Kzoo’s positivity rate plummets

Kalamazoo County: Kalamazoo’s COVID-19 positivity rate cratered over the long holiday weekend.

The rate of positive coronavirus test results in the county has long lagged behind the rest of the state. That rate has now come close to catching up. In the week ending Monday, just 3.77% of COVID-19 tests conducted in the county returned positive results. Just a week earlier the rate was 6.31%.

The week average of new daily infections has also plummeted. County officials reported just 28 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday through Tuesday. That brought the seven day average down to just over 11 new cases per day.

The county reported no new deaths from the coronavirus over the holiday weekend. The average – already low – fell to 0.2 deaths per day over the past week.

Michigan: The state’s new infection numbers dropped to their lowest level since last July.

State health officials reported 862 new cases of COVID-19 over the course of Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. That averages out to about 287 new cases on each of the three days. For comparison, a week ago the state’s new infection count was more than 2.5 times that.

The state reported just 13 coronavirus deaths over the holiday weekend. That brought the seven day average down to 22.43 deaths per day. The last time the average was that low was April 2, when the spring surge was just picking up steam.

The state’s positivity rate is coming ever closer to the 3% goal state health officials are targeting. In the week ending Monday, 3.6% of COVID-19 tests returned positive results. However, the declining positivity rate comes at the same time that coronavirus testing is on the decline.