St. Joseph County's COVID cases fall 8.7%; Michigan cases surge 38.3%

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
·3 min read
Sharon Blow checks in curbside for her Delta flight Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at Jacksonville International Airport. No one at the moment was wearing a mask following a judge's ruling to lift the mandate that had been in place for COVID-19 protections.
Sharon Blow checks in curbside for her Delta flight Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at Jacksonville International Airport. No one at the moment was wearing a mask following a judge's ruling to lift the mandate that had been in place for COVID-19 protections.

New coronavirus cases leaped in Michigan in the week ending May 1, rising 38.3% as 14,482 cases were reported. The previous week had 10,474 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

St. Joseph County reported 21 cases and one death in the past week. A week earlier, it had reported 23 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic, it has confirmed 13,736 cases and 208 deaths.

Michigan ranked 16th 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 U.S. increased 8.9% from the week before, with 381,004 cases reported. With 3% of the country's population, Michigan had 3.8% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 41 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

The highest number of weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Washtenaw County with 343 cases per 100,000 per week; Oakland County with 220; and Macomb County with 197. 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 3,399 cases; Oakland County, with 2,771 cases; and Macomb County, with 1,725. Weekly case counts rose in 68 counties compared to the previous week. The biggest increase from the prior week's pace came in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

Cases fell in 13 counties, with the steepest declines in Alpena County, with 29 cases from 53 a week earlier; in Kent County, with 610 cases from 622; and in Ontonagon County, with 2 cases from 8.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Michigan ranked 35th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 67% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77.6%, 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.

Michigan reported administering another 79,375 vaccine doses, including 6,734 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 85,485 vaccine doses, including 7,115 first doses. In all, Michigan reported it has administered 15,883,605 total doses.

In Michigan, 67 people died from COVID-19 in the week ending May 1.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Michigan's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, May 1.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 996

  • The week before that: 728

  • Four weeks ago: 563

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 43,243

  • The week before that: 39,428

  • Four weeks ago: 37,216

Hospitals in 34 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 34 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 38 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.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: St. Joseph County reported 21 additional COVID-19 cases this week