6/8/21: Positivity rate falls in Michigan, rises in Kzoo

Michigan: The state’s positivity rate continues to decline. Having passed the 3% threshold targeted by health officials, much of the state can breath a sigh of relief that transmission rates of COVID-19 are lower than they’ve been since last summer.

In the week ending Sunday, just 2.42% of COVID-19 tests conducted in the state returned positive results. That rate has been on a steady decline since reaching almost 17% in early April.

Meanwhile, new infection numbers also continue to decline. State health officials reported 419 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and Monday. That brought the seven day average down to 356 new cases per day.

The average number of people dying from the virus is actually on the rise. The state reported just 11 deaths on Sunday and Monday, but the seven day average rose to 29 deaths per day. That average has been increasing for five days now.

Kalamazoo County: The trends are roughly similar in Kalamazoo County with the exception of the positivity rate.

The county's positivity rate has been on the rise since Thursday. In the week ending Sunday, just over 3% of COVID-19 tests returned positive results. It's still a low rate, but worth watching.

The county reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. That pushed the seven day average down to 10.29 new cases per day.

Meanwhile, the county has reported one new death from the coronavirus. As of Friday, the week average of new deaths had been zero. As of Monday's announcement, the average rose to 0.14 deaths per day.