(WWJ) State health officials are reporting 50 new coronavirus outbreaks in schools and colleges in Michigan.
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, some of the new cases are at Henry Ford II High School in Sterling Heights, at Fraser High School in Fraser, Davidson Middle School in Southgate and at St. Anselm in Dearborn Heights.
There are also new outbreaks reported at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Northern Michigan University in Marquette and at Michigan Technological University in Houghton.
The school outbreak numbers are released by MDHHS once a week, on Monday afternoons.
What counts as a school "outbreak"? In accordance with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists’ outbreak definition, educational institutions (i.e., grades K-12 and institutions of higher education) that have been found by their local health department to have two or more COVID-19 cases who may have shared exposure on school grounds and are from different households are included. Case counts for school-related outbreaks include those associated with before and after school programs (including school-sponsored sports). When applicable, outbreak reporting also includes cases originating from on-campus and off-campus student housing.
If your institution is listed, MDDHS says your local health department and school are investigating the outbreak and will contact you directly if you (or your minor/child) were possibly exposed to coronavirus on the school grounds. Please note that students or staff who were exposed to COVID-19 outside of school grounds and are not thought to have spread the disease on the school grounds (due to quarantine, self-isolation, etc.) are not included in the totals.
Visit THIS LINK for more details on school outbreaks in Michigan.
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Meanwhile, looking at where Michigan stands overall, MDHHS says new confirmed cases of COVID-19 have pushed the statewide total to more than 216,800 cases since counting began in March, with more than 128,900 of recovered.
Sunday and Monday combined, health officials reported 9,010 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, for an average of 4505 per day. The health department also reported 62 new deaths over the two-day period.
An important number to pay attention to: MDHHS says the state’s test positivity rate now stands at nearly 10%. Two weeks ago, it was about 6%, up from below 3% back in June.
Hospitalizations are also trending upward in Michigan. Nearly 2,100 people are hospitalized statewide with a confirmed case of the virus.
In late September, the number of hospitalizations was around 500. See more information on hospitalizations here, and more updated COVID stats for Michigan at this link.
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