Alabama (+ 90%), Delaware (+ 52%) and Michigan (+ 50%) among the states that witnessed the biggest peaks, according to Johns Hopkins University.
In Michigan, cases have been on the rise since the last week of February, and the state reported the second highest number of cases of variant B.1.1.7, first identified in the United Kingdom.
These spikes occur as Michigan prepares to deploy the state’s largest mass vaccination site at Ford Field in Detroit.
On Thursday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and other state leaders took center stage at Ford Field to announce that the site – scheduled to open on March 24 and managed with support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency – will be able to administer 6,000 daily doses.
“We are in the fourth period of the fight against the pandemic. It is not over yet. It is not time to increase the pace of football,” said Whitmer. “It’s time to clench your teeth and continue doing the work we need to do until the last second of this event is over. If we want to get back to normal … we all need to get vaccinated, encourage our loved ones and friends and coworkers and neighbors to do so. “
Dr. Jennifer Morse, medical director of the Mid-Michigan District Department of Health, hopes that the clinic’s opening will help slow the spread of the virus across the state.
Morse said there is a long list of factors that contribute to the increase in cases in Michigan.
One example, she said, is the recent reversal of certain restrictions.
Whitmer eased the restrictions earlier this month, increasing capacity limits in restaurants, retail stores and gyms from 25% to 50% of capacity, with a maximum capacity of 100 people per location.
Whitmer told CNN earlier this month that his state has made a lot of progress against the virus, but that they will remain “stuck with science” while easing restrictions.
Morse said the lifting of restrictions has led to inappropriate use of the mask. She also said that news of emerging vaccines led people to believe that they could relax some of their hygiene habits, such as wearing masks.
Morse told CNN that an outbreak of Covid-19 in a prison in Ionia County and variant B.1.1.7 also fueled the recent increase.
Morse, who noted that the state administered more than three million doses of vaccines, said he feared that progress in fighting the virus could be reversed if the upward trend in cases continues.
“My only hope is that we vaccinated really aggressively and worked very well in the different vaccination categories,” said Morse. “And my hope is that it will help prevent (the cases) from increasing as much as (they) went up in the fall.”
Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist shared that hope during Thursday’s announcement at Ford Field.
“At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Detroit was one of America’s epicenters for cases and deaths. And as a Detroiter, I felt it personally when I said goodbye to 27 people due to this virus,” said Gilchrist, adding that Ford O field site will allocate 1,000 vaccines daily to mobile vaccine units throughout southeastern Michigan. “The virus has hit our city hard, but the Michiganders are tough. We can team up to fight Covid-19.”
CNN’s Melissa Alonso contributed to this report.