NEWS

Lenawee County's COVID-19 cases increased by 1,244; Michigan cases plummet 11.7%

Mike Stucka
USA TODAY NETWORK

Many Michigan counties did not report COVID-19 case data during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, disrupting the latest week's statistics. That data is being compared to a week with backlogged cases and deaths from the New Year's holiday weekend. Week-to-week comparisons are skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

Michigan, however, reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 128,398 new cases. That's down 11.7% from the previous week's tally of 145,333 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Michigan ranked 39th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week, coronavirus cases in the United States increased 5.8% from the week before, with 5,438,242 cases reported. With 3% of the country's population, Michigan had 2.36% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 39 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

A COVID-19 patient on a ventilator is checked by Megan Lee, a resident nurse at Stormont Vail Health, inside the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the hospital in Topeka, Kansas, on Jan. 7.

Lenawee County reported 1,244 cases and four deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 1,161 cases and seven deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 20,127 cases and 265 deaths.

Across Michigan, cases fell in 28 counties, with the best declines in Wayne County, with 25,074 cases from 33,222 a week earlier; in Oakland County, with 17,027 cases from 21,617; and in Macomb County, with 11,948 cases from 15,973.

Michigan ranked 34th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 64.2% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 74.6%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Wednesday, Michigan reported administering another 207,602 vaccine doses, including 45,110 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 176,966 vaccine doses, including 38,806 first doses. In all, Michigan reported it has administered 14,323,849 total doses.

Within Michigan, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Dickinson County with 1,787 cases per 100,000 per week; Marquette County with 1,768; and Chippewa County with 1,644. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Wayne County, with 25,074 cases; Oakland County, with 17,027 cases; and Macomb County, with 11,948. Weekly case counts rose in 53 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Ingham, Ottawa and Houghton counties.

In Michigan, 754 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 935 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,984,056 people in Michigan have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 30,709 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 65,699,947 people have tested positive and 850,605 people have died.

Note: In the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus data, cases and deaths for the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Federal Correctional Institution separately from Michigan counties.

Michigan's COVID-19 hospital admissions staying flat

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Jan. 16.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 4,440
  • The week before that: 4,406
  • Four weeks ago: 3,324

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 203,221
  • The week before that: 185,954
  • Four weeks ago: 90,739

Hospitals in 41 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 35 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 43 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.