(WWJ) Health officials say there have been 70 new COVID-19 outbreaks indentified Michigan in the past week, as the number of coronavirus cases remains steady across the state.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Chief Medical Executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, says nursing homes and weddings are among areas of concern.
COVID-19 outbreaks are generally defined as two or more cases with a link by place and time indicating a shared exposure outside of a household.
"We're still seeing a majority of our outbreaks, the new outbreaks every week, being in longterm care faculties," Khaldun said. "There's a lot of people that are still doing social gatherings and weddings. We're still seeing some outbreaks in child care facilities, and some again with K-12 school and with universities."
This comes as outbreaks are happening in nursing homes all over the county. Long-term care facilities represent less than 1% of the U.S. population, but they account for 42% of the COVID-19 deaths nationwide, with more than 70,000 fatalities reported by the COVID Tracking Project.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was asked if there have been any outbreaks linked to gyms or bowling alleys in Northern Michigan, which were allowed to reopen back in June while remaining closed in downstate.
While the governor didn't have any figures to report offhand, Khaldun said "there are some," and pointed people to the Michigan Coronavirus website, where the public can now find details about recent outbreaks in the state. Check it out AT THIS LINK.
Along with the type of location, the outbreaks are broken down by region* so Michiganders can get a better idea of where they're happening.
On Tuesday, the health department reported 779 new confirmed cases in Michigan, bringing the total throughout the outbreak to 98,439. A total of 20 more deaths were reported, including 6 identified during a Vital Records review, bringing Michigan's total death count to 6,417.
Khaldun said the positivity rate of people who are tested is now at about 3.3%, and she would like to see that number below 3%.
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*For your reference, the regions by county:
Region 1 – Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston and ShiawasseeRegion 2S – City of Detroit and Monroe, Washtenaw and WayneRegion 2N - Macomb, Oakland and St. Clair Region 3 - Saginaw, Alcona, Iosco, Ogemaw, Arenac, Gladwin, Midland, Bay, Genesee, Tuscola, Lapeer, Sanilac and HuronRegion 5 - Allegan, Barry, Calhoun, Branch, St. Joseph, Cass, Berrien, Van Buren and Kalamazoo Region 6 - Clare, Ionia, Isabella, Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola and Ottawa Region 7 - Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Benzie, Leelanau, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Crawford, Oscoda, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Ilse, Cheboygan, Emmet and CharlevoixRegion 8 - Chippewa, Mackinac, Luce, Schoolcraft, Delta, Alger, Marquette, Dickinson, Menominee, Baraga, Iron, Gogebic, Ontonagon, Houghton and Keweenaw
