(WWJ) The State of Michigan announced a daily COVID-19 death toll of less than a dozen on Sunday for the first time since Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s initial “Stay at Home” order took effect.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reported 11 more Michiganders lost their life to coronavirus since Saturday.
Detroit also marked a major milestone on Sunday. For the first time since mid-March; the city announced no new deaths from the virus.
The rest of Wayne County reported six.
Oakland County also reported no new deaths.
Health officials acknowledge reporting is sparse and less accurate on weekends due to a lack of staff present to fill out the records.
However, the last time Michigan reported less than a dozen daily deaths was on March 22; the day before Governor Whitmer announced the first “Stay at Home” order.
Beaumont announced the first COVID-19 death in its health system on March 18. The man in his fifties was the first reported victim of the virus in Michigan.
Additional hopeful signs are emerging in Michigan’s fight against the pandemic.
MDHHS announced 638 new cases of the virus on Sunday. This is the 17th day of less than 1,000 daily cases since late March.
20 of those cases are in Detroit. 29 are in the rest of Wayne County.
Oakland County announced 31 new cases on Sunday.
This MDHHS chart shows the rate of infections per one million residents in Region 2N (Oakland, Macomb and St. Clair County).
This chart shows Region 2S (Wayne, Washtenaw and Monroe County, and Detroit)
You can see the rate of rise in each region here.
MDHHS data shows the percentage of daily tests coming back positive statewide has remained consistently below 10% since May 1; except for a one-day spike on Thursday that officials attributed to a backlog and increased testing at the prisons. You can see a daily breakdown here.
Michigan’s total stands at 51,142 confirmed cases and 4,891 deaths.
The average age of death is 75.3 years old. The median age is 77; meaning half of those who passed away were younger, the others older. The age range of the deceased is 5 to 107 years old.
86% of those who passed away in Michigan were older than 60.
On a happy note; 28,234 Michiganders are now considered "recovered" from COVID-19 after surviving 30 days after diagnosis. That is an increase of more than 5,000 since last week. The State of Michigan updates recovery numbers every Saturday.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer's "Stay-at-Home Stay Safe" Order is in effect until at least May 28. In the meantime; she has issued an order to wear a mask or a cloth face-covering if you are in an "enclosed public space" including the grocery store or pharmacy.
========
Additional Resources:
To read the CDC guidelines on protecting yourself and others, click here.
To learn more about symptoms and who the CDC categorizes as most at-risk for complications, click here.
To find a testing site near you, click here.