Branch County's COVID cases flat; Michigan cases plummet 20%

"Share Love, Not Germs," declared bottles of hand sanitizer at a ceremony in Ashland, Massachusetts.
"Share Love, Not Germs," declared bottles of hand sanitizer at a ceremony in Ashland, Massachusetts.

Michigan reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Aug. 14, adding 16,137 new cases. That's down 20% from the previous week's tally of 20,173 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Michigan ranked 33rd 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. Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased 2.3% from the week prior, with 795,621 cases reported. With 3% of the country's population, Michigan had 2.03% of the country's cases in the most-recent week. Seven states had more cases in the latest week than the week before.

Branch County reported 100 cases and two deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 98 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic, it has reported 12,203 cases and 193 deaths.

​ Cases fell in 58 Michigan counties, with the steepest declines in Wayne County, with 3,156 cases from 4,026 a week earlier; in Oakland County, with 2,004 cases (from 2,851); and in Macomb County, with 1,722 cases (from 2,183). ​

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The worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Ontonagon County (350 cases per 100,000 per week); Iron County (343); and Keweenaw County (331). According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Wayne County, with 3,156; Oakland County, with 2,004; and Macomb County, with 1,722. Weekly case counts rose in 22 counties from the previous week. The largest increases from the prior week's pace were in Saginaw, Sanilac and Tuscola counties.

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In Michigan, ​ 137 ​ people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 106 people were reported dead.

A total of 2,708,622 people in Michigan have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 37,671 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 92,927,104 people have tested positive and 1,037,021 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.

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Michigan's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Aug. 14. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 1,392

  • The week before that: 1,242

  • Four weeks ago: 1,077

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 72,082

  • The week before that: 71,315

  • Four weeks ago: 70,906

Hospitals in 13 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 18 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 27 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.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: Branch County reported 100 additional COVID-19 cases this week