Daily cases down slightly

51 deaths reported

Michigan public health officials confirmed Friday an additional 4,448 COVID-19 cases and 51 virus deaths over the past two days. The state averaged 2,224 cases per day, down from 2,247 cases per day Tuesday and Wednesday.

Those cumulative totals represent testing data collected Thursday and Friday. Of the 51 deaths reported, 28 were identified during a vital records review.

The two-day case total brought the state’s total confirmed cases and deaths to 955,640 and 20,367 since the onset of the pandemic. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services publishes new case, death and vaccination numbers every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Oakland County saw the largest two-day increase in cases at 488 followed by Wayne County at 448 (excluding Detroit), Kent County at 404, Macomb County at 362 and Ottawa County at 216. Detroit saw an increase of 172 cases.

Over the past seven days, Oakland County is averaging 139.87 cases per day per 100,000 residents, according to the CDC, a 2.93% increase over the previous seven days.

Thirty-three of the state’s 83 counties reported at least one new death, according to MDHHS data. Wayne County, including the City of Detroit, recorded eight new virus deaths while Oakland County confirmed four new deaths.

The state’s COVID-19 case and testing positivity rates continue to remain high at 10.48% as of Tuesday, Aug. 31. Statewide, there are more than 1,100 Michiganders hospitalized with COVID-19.

Michigan’s seven-day average case rate currently stands at 155.4 cases per day per 100,000 residents. Michigan remains in the high community transmission category, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state’s seven-day testing positivity rate is still averaging 8-10 percent.

The CDC is also reporting that 94.74 percent of U.S. counties have had high community transmission levels, including the majority of Michigan’s 83 counties. The CDC defines high community transmission as averaging at least 100 new cases per day per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period.

As of Thursday, Sept. 2, the state’s vaccination coverage rate for residents 16 and older was 66.0 percent with 5,341,504 residents receiving at least one dose including 37.6 percent for those aged 1215, 45.9 percent for those aged 16-19, 43.7 percent for those aged 20-29, and 53.9 percent for those aged 3039.

Among the older groups, vaccination rates are 57.9 percent for those aged 40-49, 69.0 percent for those aged 50-64, 83.2 percent for residents aged 65-74, and 79.9 percent for Michiganders aged 75 and older.