State reports nearly 900 new cases
Michigan reported 891 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, and 19 new COVID-19 deaths.
Of those deaths, 11 were discovered during a Vital Records review.
The state’s totals are now 125,578 confirmed cases since the onset of the pandemic, and 6,781 total deaths.
Including 13,434 probable cases and 321 probable deaths, the totals are now 139,012 cases and 7,102 deaths.
A probable cases is a person who has symptoms and an epidemiological link to COVID-19, but who has not been tested. A probable death is a person for whom COVID-19 is listed as a cause of death or a significant contributing factor.
To date, just over 4 million tests have been performed in Michigan, or about 400,000 per million residents. Of those, 3.72 million were diagnostic tests around 296,000 were serology tests.
A diagnostic test looks for genes or proteins from SARS- CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It indicates whether a person currently has the virus.
Serology tests look for the possibility of a previous infection by scanning for antibodies.
By county
Wayne County and Macomb County both reported 81 new cases Thursday, the highest in the Metro-Detroit area.
Wayne County now has a total of 18,591 cases and 1,291 deaths, onemore than the previous day.
Macomb County also reported a single new death. It nowhas 14,331 cases and 977 total deaths.
Oakland County reported 55 new cases and three new deaths. Its numbers are now 16,772 cases and 1,157 deaths.
In Detroit, 28 new cases brought its total to 14,468 since theonset of COVID-19. It reported one new death, now at 1,531.
In mid- Michigan, Isabella County and Gratiot County both reported 3 new cases each, while Clare County reported a single new case. There were no new deaths in either of the three counties.
Isabella County has a total of 645 cases and 14 deaths. Gratiot County has 258 cases and 15 total deaths. Clare County reported 105 cases and four new deaths.
Kent County was also hit hard Thursday, with 78 new cases bringing its total to 9,446. An adjustment in the number of Kent County
deaths brought its reported total down from 173 to 171.
State impact
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced new rules for Michigan nursing homes. Infected nursing home residents without access to a dedicated COVID-19 unite will be transferred to “care and recovery” centers, the Associated Press reported.
Previously, the residents were instead transferred to one of 21 state- designated “hub” nursing homes.
Wednesday, the Michigan Senate passed a bill reversing the ban on food assistance for those with drugrelated felony convictions.
Michigan League external affairs director Alex Rossman stated coronavirus-related unemployment has prompted a need to change the current law, according to the AP.
In Montcalm County, a Carson City- Crystal Area Schools teacher died from COVID-19 Friday, Sept. 25.
MLive reported the health department is not releasing identifying information about the deceased, but she died from “respiratory failure, cardiac arrest and bilateral pneumonia.”
The death came a day after the school hadmoved to all-virtual teaching, due to reported positive COVID-19 cases.
Outside Michigan
Globally, more than 34 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported, with 1.01 million deaths, according to Johns-Hopkins University.
In the United States, 7.25 million cases have been reported, with just over 207,000 deaths.
This means the U.S. has roughly 21.3 percent of all reported cases, and 20.4 percent of all worldwide COVID-19 deaths.
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the United States has 4.25 percent of the world’s population.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list the United States as having over 298,000 confirmed cases in the past seven days.
The United States has 2,180 cases per 100,000 people, and 62 deaths per 100,000.
India has the secondhighest number of total cases, at over 6.3 million; it also has the third-highest number of coronavirus-related deaths, at nearly 99,000.
Brazil has the third-highest number of total cases, with 4.8 million. Its death toll is the second-highest, with 143,952.