(WWJ) There's good news and bad news to report about the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan on Monday.
Getting the bad news out of the way: Michigan is reporting more than 160 new coronavirus outbreaks over the past two weeks.
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities continue to top the list of new outbreaks, with 43 statewide this week.
With more schools going back to in-person learning, schools are also a trouble spot.
The health department said Monday there are 35 new outbreaks to report over the past week in K-12 schools and colleges in the state. Most of hem were in northern and southwest Michigan.
Related
Olivet College reported ten students with the virus, and Howell High School in Livingston County did report two cases.
There were no school outbreaks reported in Oakland, Macomb or Wayne counties. (School outbreak data is updated once a week on Mondays. Visit THIS LINK for more details.)
Elsewhere, 17 outbreaks were reported in office settings and 13 were linked to manufacturing and construction, MDHHS said. (Get more details about COVID-19 outbreaks in the state, HERE).
So what's the good news? The number of Michiganders testing positive for coronavirus appears to be declining.
MDHHS reported about an average of 1,000 new cases of the virus per day--over the weekend; with eight more deaths during that time.
Just under 1,400 people are currently hospitalized for the virus statewide, with less than one fourth of them in the Intensive Care Unit, health officials said Monday. That's about 200 fewer than were in hospitals last week.
About 6.5% of the tests conducted statewide on Sunday came back positive.
To date, 561,307 people in Michigan have been infected, and 14,609 Michigan residents have died from the virus. A total of 481,801 people are considered officials recovered.
Related
Also in the good news category: Progress on vaccines.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday announced that the State of Michigan has administered over 1 million COVID-19 vaccines, making us 7th in the country in vaccine distribution.
“Michigan is ramping up vaccine distribution and doing everything we can to reach our goal of 50,000 shots in arms per day. Reaching this milestone is good news for our families, frontline workers, and small business owners, but there is more work to do,” said Whitmer. “My administration is working closely with the federal government to help us get the supply we need to reach our goal and return to the normalcy we all crave. I ask for patience from Michiganders as our frontline workers work around the clock to administer vaccines. I am also ready to work with the Michigan Legislature in a bipartisan way to pass the MI COVID Relief plan focused on vaccine distribution, supporting small businesses, and getting our kids back in school safely. Ending this pandemic requires that we put partisanship aside and roll up our sleeves together. Let’s get to work.”
Meanwhile, Michigan's ban on indoor dining was lifted Monday. This means indoor services is now allowed in bars and restaurants statewide, with a 25% capacity limit, and other restrictions in place.
Find more on the latest coronavirus data for Michigan at this link. Visit Michigan.gov/COVIDVaccine for the most recent information on the vaccine in Michigan.