Eleven deaths reported in last week
At least three were vaccinated
Eleven new COVID-19 deaths were reported across Isabella, Gratiot and Clare counties. Of five deaths for which information was available, three of them involved vaccinated people.
Those numbers included new deaths as of Wednesday. The state updates its COVID-19 numbers on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and its website said Friday afternoon that a technical error would delay its Friday update.
Six of those deaths involved Gratiot County residents, bringing the total number of deaths to 162. No information was available on them. Midmichigan District Health Department, which serves Gratiot County, hasn’t released information on Gratiot County deaths since before Christmas 2020.
Three new deaths were reported in Clare County, bringing its total to 141.
Two of those people — a middle-aged man and an elderly woman — were vaccinated, said Steve Hall, health officer for Central Michigan District Health Department. CMDHD serves Isabella and Clare counties, and also Roscommon, Osceola, Gladwin and Arenac counties.
No information was immediately available on the third death.
Two new deaths were reported in Isabella County, bringing its total to 162.
Two deaths — a middleaged woman and an elderly man — were both unvaccinated, Hall said. A third person — an elderly man — was fully vaccinated.
While two new deaths were reported in the last week, it sometimes takes up to 30 days before deaths are reported on the state's website and information about the people who die also sometimes lags. Of the 501 deaths reported statewide from Saturday to Wednesday, 346 were discovered during reviews of death certificates.
No new hospitalizations were reported in either Isabella or Clare counties from Jan. 12 to Wednesday, according to the latest case demographic data released by CMDHD. So far, 190 Isabella County residents and 177 Clare County residents have received hospital care for COVID-19.
From last Friday through Wednesday, an additional 731 cases were reported in Isabella County, bringing its cumulative total to 11,302, a daily average of 146. Those cases include both permanent residents and temporary residents with permanent residences elsewhere (i.e. CMU students).
An additional 244 new confirmed cases were reported in Gratiot County for a cumulative total of 6,317 and an additional 237 new confirmed cases were reported in Clare County for a cumulative total of 4,910.
Health officials have cautioned that the fast-spreading omicron and the proliferation of at-home testing kits have made official case counts questionable, however.