Deaths jump after review of records

New case numbers remain stable

Michigan coronavirus deaths jumped Thursday following a review of vital records by the state health department although new confirmed cases remain relatively stable.

The state reported 1,358 new confirmed cases of the virus and 74 new deaths, but 63 of the deaths were added after the vital records review.

The number of new cases and deaths reported daily has been trending downwards in the new year after spiking higher in the fall, allowing some economic and school activities to resume.

More and more people steadily

continue to get vaccinations as they become available, contributing to the downward trend.

Michigan has had a total of 565,251 cases and 14,778 deaths from the virus since the pandemic began last March that prompted stayat-home orders and roiled the state’s economy.

In the numbers reported Thursday, there were 121 new cases and five deaths in Oakland County, 153 cases and 10 deaths in Wayne County, 108 cases and 17 deaths in Macomb County, and 72 cases and five deaths in Detroit.

Southeast Michigan has been the epicenter of the pandemic in the state but there have been other hotspots as well during the year. In other areas of the state, there were 97 new cases and four deaths in Kent County, 42 cases and three deaths in Livingston County, 42 cases and one death in Genesee County, 55 cases and one death in Ottawa County, and 27 cases and two deaths in Saginaw County. In rural mid Michigan, there were four cases and one death in Isabella County, four cases and no deaths in Gratiot County, and four cases and no deaths in Clare County.