LANSING, Mich — The state gave an update on Michigan’s COVID-19 trends and data Wednesday.
The MDHHS reports that cases have been increasing over the past six weeks, but they’re also confident in the state's vaccine strategy and are focusing on leveraging that campaign.
SEE MORE: MDHHS gives update on COVID-19 trends
When talking about 2020, Dr. Sarah Lyon-Callo, the director of the state’s Bureau of Epidemiology and Population Health, said, “Our positivity is the highest it’s been since April 24th.”
It’s a statistic that’s lending a bit of perspective to our current COVID trends, according to the MDHHS.
Dr. Lyon-Callo said, “Michigan is now number one in the nation in terms of our number of cases and our case rates. We are also number one in the nation in terms of percent of inpatient beds that are being used for COVID-19.”
Michigan is also hitting a more than 15 percent positivity rate, which is a 375 percent increase from our low in February.
Dr. Lyon-Callo also noted that variant cases are also increasing.
“Michigan has now identified all three variants of concern that are being tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We have more than 1,800 cases confirmed that have been infected with the B.1.1.7 variant.”
Data also confirms that younger people are the ones getting infected right now.
“The rates that currently are the highest are those age to 20 to 29 and 30 to 39,” said Dr. Lyon-Callo.
She noted that cases are also at an all-time high for children 0-9 and 10-19.
The state said all the good news lies within the vaccination efforts.
“We are 10th in the nation in terms of the number of people with their first dose and 10th in the nation for the number that are fully vaccinated,“ said Dr. Lyon-Callo.
When asked about any possible shutdowns on the horizon, the MDHHS director, Elizabeth Hertel, said that they’re focusing on vaccines and testing instead, hoping to even loosen restrictions by summer.
Hertel said, “We don’t know what the virus will do, but based on what I understand now about how the virus works, and how the vaccine is working, and how well the vaccine campaign is going, I am very optimistic for the summer.”
Hertel also said that they’re asking school districts and local health departments to consider going back to virtual learning for middle and high schools for a week or two following spring break and higher travel rates.
