Virus surge worsens in Midwest as more states expand boosters

A surge in cases in the Upper Midwest has some Michigan schools keeping students at home ahead of Thanksgiving and the military sending medical teams to Minnesota to relieve hospital staffs overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.

The worsening outlook in the Midwest comes as booster shots are being made available to everyone in a growing number of locations. Massachusetts and Utah became the latest to say anyone 18 or older can roll up a sleeve for a booster shots, and an advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is meeting Friday to discuss expanding boosters.

Cold weather states are dominating the fresh wave of cases over the last seven days, including New Hampshire, North Dakota and Wisconsin, according to federal data. But the Southwest had trouble spots, too, with more than 90% of inpatient hospital beds occupied in Arizona.

In Detroit, where only 35% of eligible residents were fully vaccinated, the school district said it would switch to online learning on Fridays in December because of rising COVID-19 cases, a need to clean buildings and a timeout for “mental health relief.” One high school has changed to all online learning until Nov. 29.

At another high school, some students and teachers briefly walked out Wednesday, saying classes still were too large for a pandemic and the school needed a scrubbing.

Detroit health officer Denise Fair Razo said new cases have skyrocketed in the city in the last 14 days to 3,858, compared to 2,322 in the previous two-week period. “We’re in Michigan so we’re not finding ourselves spending time outdoors in flip-flops and tank tops,” Fair Razo said Thursday. “We are indoors and we’re frankly becoming a little bit too relaxed. We’re no longer wearing our masks. We’re no longer washing our hands as frequently as we should. But we know these precautions.”

Fair Razo is urging people to get tested for COVID-19 before gathering at Thanksgiving, even if they’re vaccinated. She “absolutely” predicts a post-holiday spike.

Elsewhere in Michigan, some schools are taking next week off for the Thanksgiving holiday instead of just three days.

“This school year has presented some major stressors that are noticed and recognized,” Superintendent Greg Helmer told parents, citing staff shortages and student absences in Ravenna.