The number of COVID-19 cases continues to go up in Michigan, but it's the younger age groups that are getting the virus more and more in the state.
According to data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the age groups of 0-19 and 20-29 have seen a significantly larger increase in cases compared to other age groups.
On July 7, the age group of 20-29 had the fifth-largest number of cases at just 9,280. Three weeks later, on July 28, the age group jumped to the second-most cases with 12,376 since the pandemic began.
In just three weeks, the number of cases in that age group increased by 3,096, higher than any other age group by nearly 1,000 cases.
The next highest increase in cases came between the ages of 0-19.
Between March 10, when the first cases were reported, and July 7, there were only 2,861 cases for people between the ages of 0-19. By July 28, that number had increased to 5,059 cases. That's an increase of 2,198 cases, which is an increase of 77%.
On Tuesday, MDHHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said that there were 78 new outbreaks of COVID-19 in the past week alone. Of those outbreaks, 31% were in nursing homes, 22% at social gatherings, 10% at workplaces and 9% at restaurants.
As the state has opened up, we have seen outbreaks and cases related to bars where younger people tend to congregate. It's also graduation season and with large outdoor gatherings allowed once again, grad parties are happening throughout metro Detroit.
Nearly 200 COVID-19 cases were traced to Harper's Bar in East Lansing.
While cases continue to increase, deaths are remaining lower than at the height of the pandemic. It follows the trend of younger people getting cases, as the virus tends to kill older people. According to the state health department, 88% of the deaths are ages 60+. The breakdown of deaths by age is below, as of July 28.
0-19 – 5 deaths
20-29 – 26 deaths
30-39 – 60 deaths
40-49 – 202 deaths
50-59 – 504 deaths
60-69 – 1,095 deaths
70-79 – 1,650 deaths
80+ – 2,628 deaths
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
Click here for a page with resources including a COVID-19 overview from the CDC, details on cases in Michigan, a timeline of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's orders since the outbreak, coronavirus' impact on Southeast Michigan, and links to more information from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC and the WHO.
View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.
See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.
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