8/18/21: Death rates rise in Michigan

New case numbers are flat, but positivity rates are rising. Positivity is nearing 12% in Kalamazoo County.

Michigan: The seven day average of COVID-19 deaths in Michigan jumped by 30% in the past two days – from 10.29 deaths per day in the week ending Monday to 13.43 on Wednesday. It’s a stark increase and one that indicates that deaths are starting to catch up with increasing case numbers.

State health officials reported 46 new coronavirus deaths on Tuesday and Wednesday, with 15 coming after a review of previous death records.

Meanwhile, the rate of new cases has flattened out. State health officials reported 2,690 new cases over the course of the past two days. That brought the seven day average to 1,339 new cases per day – only slightly lower than it was on Monday.

The state’s positivity rate continued to climb on Tuesday, however. In the previous week, 8.25% of COVID-19 tests conducted in the state returned positive results. That’s 1.25 percentage points higher than it was a week prior.

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Kalamazoo County: The county is in a reverse situation from the state - with case numbers rising and deaths remaing flat.

Health officials reported 111 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and Wednesday. That prompted the seven day average to climb to 50.14 new cases per day. At the same time there were no new deaths and the average remained flat at 0.14 deaths per day over the past week.

In worse news, the county's positivity rate continues to rise swiftly. In the week ending Tuesday, 11.65% of COVID-19 tests conducted in the county returned positive results. That's three percentage points higher than a week earlier.

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