6/4/21: Michigan positivity rate dips below 3%
Michigan: For the first time since September, Michigan has recorded a positivity rate below 3%.
On Wednesday, just 2.4% of COVID-19 tests conducted in the state returned positive results. That’s down from a pandemic high of nearly 18% in early April. State health leaders have aimed to keep the positivity rate below 3%.
State health officials reported 510 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. That brought the seven day average down to 407 new cases per day – the lowest average since September.
Also on Thursday, the state reported 57 deaths from the coronavirus. That caused the seven day average to fall to just over 25 deaths per day.
Hospitalizations also continued to decline on Thursday. The state reported 917 coronavirus patients in hospitals in the state – 48 fewer than the day before.
Kalamazoo County: COVID-19 rates continued to fall in Kalamazoo as well.
County health officials reported just 12 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the seven day average down to just under 11 new cases per day.
The county reported no new deaths from the coronavirus on Thursday. It has now been nearly a week since the last COVID-19 death.
Fewer people are being treated for COVID-19 in Kalamazoo County hospitals than a week ago. The county’s two hospitals reported a total of 45 coronavirus patients on Thursday – down from 50 last Thursday.
Finally, Kalamazoo’s positivity rate is continuing to fall slowly toward 3%. On Wednesday, 3.14% of COVID-19 tests conducted in the county returned positive results.
Variants: The number of COVID-19 Variants of Concern continues to be a growing problem in Michigan.
As of Tuesday, the state had counted more than 11,000 cases of the Alpha variant – previously referred to as the B.1.1.7 or UK variant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 81% of COVID-19 cases in the state are the Alpha variant.
Other variants are also being tracked in the state. Each makes up just a fraction of the total cases in Michigan.
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