Spring break adds to COVID-19 concerns

Combine the soaring COVID-19 case numbers in Oakland County with spring break vacations and it’s not a pretty picture.

“I am scared to death of spring break,’’ said Dr. Russell Faust, Oakland County’s medical director, on Friday.

“Our numbers right now are 100 new cases per day on the daily average higher than we were a year ago. You remember what a year ago was like? We’re already 100 more cases a day than that. That was 300 cases a day. We’re already over 400 new cases a day right now,’’ Faust said.

The seven-day average of new cases in Oakland County is 401 as of Thursday. That’s up from a seven-day average of 94 a month ago on Feb. 23.

Faust said it’s possible that the high number of cases is because there is more testing, but the per

cent positivity rate from tests is concerning.

The seven-day average percent positivity in the county is 9.62% through Tuesday.

“I think two weeks ago — this is so crazy — two weeks ago it was less than 4%. That’s great. The World Health Organization and the CDC say you really need to get your positive rate down below 5%. I was pretty giddy we were down to 3.something percent. That was just great,’’ Faust said. “As of Monday we were 12 percent or something like that.’’

It’s not just in Oakland County. The seven-day average positivity rate in Michigan is 10.19% as of Tuesday.

“We’ve tripled across the state basically in the last two weeks. That concerns me, and the fact that we’re seeing way more new cases per day than a year ago,’’ Faust said.

If students and families go out of state for spring break, Faust said they should quarantine for 14 days when they return.

“But of course they won’t. So they’ll of course go back to college or high school or whatever. We’re going to have a problem on our hands,’’ Faust said.

He’s seen the news footage from spring breaks in Florida.

“Not a mask in sight, so yes I’m worried,’’ Faust said.