Handful of new cases reported

State health officials confirm eight infections in region over weekend, one new death in Gratiot

Eight new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported over the weekend in Isabella, Gratiot and Clare counties; and one additional death.

The death was in Gratiot County, its 100th. No information about the person was available, and Mid Michigan District Health Department, which covers the county, stopped providing information about COVID deaths in December.

Two additional cases were reported there over the weekend, bringing its cumulative total to 2,472.

Five of the remaining six cases were reported in Isabella County, bringing its cumulative total to 3,598. Seventy-two people from Isabella County have died from COVID-19.

One more confirmed case was reported in Clare County, bringing its cumulative total to 1,411, with 68 deaths.

Key metrics used to measure disease spread continued to be lower in Isabella, Gratiot and Clare counties than the state as an average. The seven-day rolling average of diagnostic tests that return a positive result in Isabella County is 1.47 percent, based on data going back from Sunday. The same average in Gratiot County is 2.2 percent. For Clare County, the average is 3.85 percent.

The statewide average is 4.3 percent.

All three counties also have lower averages of new confirmed and probable cases per 100,000 people than the statewide average. The data is available on a countylevel dashboard hosted by the Brown University School of Public Health.

Michigan’s seven-day average of new confirmed and probable cases per 100,000 people is 15.1. Isabella County’s seven-day average is 9.2, Gratiot County’s is 9.8 and Clare County’s is 8.8

Elsewhere in mid-michigan, no new deaths were reported, with

new and cumulative cases and deaths as follows:

• In Gladwin County, one additional case was reported for a cumulative total of 1,266, with 40 deaths;

• In Mecosta County, an additional two cases were reported for a cumulative total of 1,938, with 19 deaths;

• In Midland County, an additional 19 cases were reported for a cumulative total of 4,494, with 62 deaths; and,

• In Montcalm County, an additional three cases were reported for a cumulative total of 3,271, with 86 deaths.

Statewide, another four deaths were reported for a total of 15,670 and another 1,960 cases were reported for a cumulative total of 598,014.