Seven more from Clare in hospital
New death in Mecosta
Across the six counties that belong to the Central Michigan District Health Department, there were 11 new hospitalizations from Oct. 7 to wednesday. Sevenof them were in Clare County.
The number of people hospitalized in Clare County due to COVID-19 increased from 18 to 25. That is more than a quarter of the total hospitalizations across the CMDHD counties. Only Isabella County has seen more people hospitalized for the disease, with 26. Last week, there were 25 cumulative hospitalizations in Isabella County, an increase of one.
The difference? As of Thursday, Isabella County had 781 cumulative cases, up seven from wednesday. Clare County had 162, an increase of nine cases from wednesday. Clare County’s hospitalization rate is 15.4 percent while Isabella County’s is 3.3 percent.
Clare County is older and impoverished. Age and underlying health conditions are the two single biggest contributors to negative COVID-19 outcomes, CMDHD Health Officer Steve Hall said previously.
Isabella County, on the other hand, is young and comparatively wealthy. In fact, a large chunk of the county’s cases are CMU students. Of the 725 cases of COVID-19 involving people in the 20-49 age group, only 19 have involved hospitalizations for a 2.6 percent hospitalization rate.
This is also reflected in the relative death rates in both counties. With six deaths of 162, Clare’s current case fatality rate— the ratio of deaths among confirmed cases — is 3.7 percent; in Isabella County, the 15 deaths provide a case fatality rate of 1.9 percent. Statewide, it is 4.9 percent and has been falling since June when it was 10 percent.
Two of Clare County’s new cases were at Northwoods Nursing Center, in Farwell, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services long-term care facility website. Thirteen residents and 11 staff there have not contracted the disease, an increase of one in both categories.
It is one of two nursing home outbreaks reported in the lastweek. The other was at medilodge of Clare, where six residents and two staff have contracted the disease.
It is currently not known how many of Clare’s new
hospitalizations involve the two outbreaks. A media request form was filed with CMDHD requesting that information, but no answer has so far been forth coming.
Clare county’s only hospital is the 49-bed Midmichigan Medical Center- Clare. An email was sent to MidMichigan Health seeking information on whether the new hospitalizations stressed the hospital’s capacity or required transferring patients.
Hospitalizations in Gladwin County, one of the other four CMDHD counties, were unchanged with eight. Eight new cases were announced, however, for a cumulative total of 129, with two deaths.
The other three CMDHD counties are Roscommon, Osceola and Arenac.
Gratiot County had four more confirmed COVID-19 cases for a cumulative total of 328, with 16 deaths.
Elsewhere in mid-michigan, one additional death was reported in Mecosta County, bringing its total to four. The number of cases there increased by nine to 306. Sixteen additional cases were reported in Montcalm County, for a cumulative total of 410, with seven deaths. Fifteen cases were announced in Midland County for a cumulative total of 642, with 13 deaths.
Statewide, 2,030 new cases were announced. Some of those cases could have been announced Wednesday, according to a press release from the MDHHS, but due to a slowdown in the reporting system were included with Thursday’s count.