COVID-19 cases up by 1,095

Third straight day above 1,000 leaves October outpacing prior months

Michigan added 1,095 cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the third consecutive day it topped more than a 1,000 and fifth time so far this month.

One of those days, Monday, counted for two days, though, when 1,407 cases were confirmed for Sunday and Monday.

But with last Saturday’s 1,158 cases, and the Wednesday and Thursday reports adding 1,016 and 1,197 respectively, Michigan is far outpacing both August and September — when cases were already higher than earlier in the summer — in terms of new infections of the disease.

The seven-day average is nearing 1,000, standing at 968 on Friday. On this date in August, it was 660, and on Sept. 9 it was 698.

So far in October, 8,447 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed. In the first nine days of August, the state reported 5,782, and in that period of September, it had 6,127.

Michigan has 133,134 confirmed cases of COVIDthe disease caused by the coronavirus.

The update comes as the world is reporting higher daily new infections.

The World Health Organization reported Friday that a new daily record high number of coronavirus cases had been reported worldwide, withmore than 350,000 cases found, according to The Associated

Press.

The coronavirus is surging in Europe, with more than 100,000 daily new cases, and health officials warn lockdowns may be necessary there if the disease gets out of control.

Worldwide, as theMichigan update came in Friday mid-afternoon, the number of cases stood at nearly 36.7 million withmore than 1.06 killed, according to Johns Hopkins University data. In the U.S., more than 7.6 have

been infected and more than 213,000 have died.

Michigan continued to stand at 17th in the nation, with the total confirmed and probable cases standing at nearly 147,600. among the 24 states that have topped 100,000 cases. California and Texas have the most with more than 800,000 each, and Florida is next with more than 700,000 — three of the 10 states with more than 200,000 cases.

In Michigan, seven new deaths were reported, putting the number of deaths confirmed to be tied to COVID-19 at 6,876.

Politics of COVID-19

The politics of the pandemic have been front and center this week, as cases have risen in Michigan, first with the presidential diagnosis, then with the state Supreme Court ruling against the governor’s use of emergency powers, and finally with the news that members of militia groups were planning to kidnap and kill the governor, in part because of lockdown efforts that had slowed the spread.

Early in the arrival of coronavirus to the U. S., Michigan was one of the

hardest hit states. But the efforts to slow the spread and prevent hospitals from being pushed to their limits, particularly in Metro Detroit, led to the shutdown of schools and shutting down larges parts of the economy.

Those efforts led to caseloads falling drastically in May and June.

In June, just 6,473 cases were confirmed in Michigan, an average of 216 per day, but the number grew of cases in July was up to 17,751.

Both August and September saw new cases top 20,000. October is on pace to see nearly 30,000 new

cases.

Local trends

Macomb County led the Metro Detroit area in new cases on Friday, days after passing the city of Detroit in total caseload. It also is on the verge of reaching 15,000 cases. With 100 new cases on Friday, Macomb County had 14,968 confirmed cases.

Oakland County added 89 cases to reach 17,398.

Wayne County, not including Detroit, added 79 cases to reach 19,244, most in the state.

And Detroit added just 16 cases to reach 14,657.

Kent County, in western Michigan, added the most new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, reaching 10,238 after reporting 126 cases.

Nearby Ottawa County added 52 cases to hit 3,693, while Kalamazoo County added 54 to reach 2,835.

Inmid-Michigan Isabella County added 12 cases to reach 718, and neighboring Gratiot County added seven to reach 288 and Clare County added eight to reach 125.

To the south, Ingham County — home to the state capitol andMSU— increased its caseload by 64 to reach 3,876.