State adds over 6K new virus cases on Tuesday
So far, November has seen more cases than the prior six months combined
Michigan added 6,290 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, two days before the Thanksgiving holiday that traditionally brings family and friends together to a table to share a meal.
This year, as the coronavirus pandemic rages across the nation and surges throughout Michigan, leaders hope smaller, more private observances will not make December a more dangerous time than November.
As it has been, November has been the worst month for the state, with 142,326 confirmed cases — more than the prior six months combined.
The hope is that people having stayed in more and continuing to lay low, especially with rules limiting gatherings and temporarily closing high school in-person learning as well as dining out, the number of new cases will drop as the spread of the virus slows.
Tuesday marked the 15th straight time that the state added more than 5,000 new cases.
On Tuesday, the seven- day average of new confirmed cases dropped, falling under 7,000 to 6,925 — from a high of 7,270, though, so the drop is not a major one. But it has not increased since the end of last week.
The state did announced 145 new deaths — 51 of them from a review of vital records — on Tuesday, the highest single- day increase of the month.
In Michigan, 320,506 cases of
Oakland County added the most cases, up by 849 to reach 36,835 confirmed cases, most in the state.
COVID-19 have been confirmed since the pandemic was first detected here, 44.4 percent of them found just this month, and 8,688 people have died after contracting the disease.
The update Tuesday came as the worldwide caseload since the start of the pandemic surpassed 59.5 million and the death toll topped 1.4 million. The U. S. caseload neared 12.5 million and the number of deaths neared 259,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Local trends
The metro Detroit saw 2,369 new cases confirmed Tuesday, though the virus has continued to spread throughout the state. But the tri- county has confirmed 123,750 cases.
Oakland County added the most cases, up by 849 to reach 36,835 confirmed cases, most in the state.
In Wayne County, excluding Detroit, 698 cases were reported to bring the total to 35,852.
In Macomb County, 606 new cases took them up to 31,972.
Meanwhile, Detroit continued its trend of numbers well below its suburban counterparts, up by just 216 to reach 19,091.
Outward from Detroit, Genesee County was up by 330 cases, reaching 11,689, and Washtenaw County added 8,301 to end the day at 8,301.
In western Michigan, Kent County was up 459 and at 28,598, while Ottawa County was at 11,895 after adding 183 cases. Kalamazoo County added 99 cases to reach 7,432.
In mid-Michigan, Gratiot County was up by 50 cases to reach 1,308, while Isabella County added 32 to hit 1,997.
Overall, adding probable cases, Michigan has had 347,746 cases and 9,094 deaths.
On Monday, about 70,000 diagnostic tests were reported, with the positivity rate at 12.9 percent, continuing a trend from the start of the month of positivity rates above 10 percent despite 50,000- 90,000 daily tests being reported.