St. Joseph County's COVID-19 cases up 80.6%; Michigan cases surge 106%
New coronavirus cases leaped in Michigan in the week ending Jan. 2, rising 106% as 64,747 cases were reported. The previous week had 31,437 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
St. Joseph County reported 186 cases and three deaths in the most recent week. A week earlier, it had reported 103 cases and five deaths. Throughout the pandemic, it has reported 10,890 cases and 160 deaths.
Michigan ranked 23rd 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 104% from the week before, with 2,833,203 cases reported. With 3% of the country's population, Michigan had 2.29% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 49 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Christmas and New Year's significantly disrupted who got tested, how many people got tested, what labs operated and what government agencies reported on time. Some of the Christmas weekend reports were shifted into the latest week. Most states reported no cases at all the weekend of New Year's, which will bump those reports into the following week. Consequently, week-to-week comparisons will be skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.
Within Michigan, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Wayne County with 1,070 cases per 100,000 per week; Macomb County with 920; and Oakland County with 808. 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 18,726 cases; Oakland County, with 10,156 cases; and Macomb County, with 8,040. Weekly case counts rose in 76 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
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Michigan ranked 34th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 63.5% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 73.3%, 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 Thursday, Michigan reported administering another 187,823 vaccine doses, including 38,762 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 292,958 vaccine doses, including 53,595 first doses. In all, Michigan reported it has administered 13,979,476 total doses.
Across Michigan, cases fell in seven counties, with the best declines in Gratiot County, with 111 cases from 253 a week earlier; in Wexford County, with 56 cases from 66; and in Alpena County, with 72 cases from 81.
In Michigan, 675 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 606 people were reported dead.
A total of 1,710,325 people in Michigan have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 29,020 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 55,114,057 people have tested positive and 826,060 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, Jan. 2.
Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
Last week: 3,841
The week before that: 3,102
Four weeks ago: 4,059
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
Last week: 146,041
The week before that: 99,270
Four weeks ago: 86,518
Hospitals in 42 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 32 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 48 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 Sturgis Journal: St. Joseph County COVID cases increased by 186 this week
