(WXYZ) – Michigan may be facing another surge in COVID-19 cases, chief medical officer Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said at a news conference on Friday.
Dr. Khaldun said “very worrying data” shows that the state is going in the wrong direction
“We are not out of danger yet,” she said.
Case rates in Michigan are now at 173 cases per million and have been increasing in the past four weeks. They increased 77% across all age groups, but those between 10 and 19 years old saw the biggest increase.
In addition, the percentage of positivity has increased in the last four weeks and is now at 6.2%. There has also been an increase in hospitalization rates in the past two weeks, with 4.9% of hospital beds being used for patients with COVID-19.
Dr. Khaldun said that many of the cases are related to outbreaks, which have increased to 645 across the state.
Last week, the number of cases in K-12 environments exceeded the number in long-term care facilities. Dr. Khaldun said that there are risks with activities related to children in this age group.
Many of the outbreaks are related to sports; Dr. Khaldun said 315 outbreaks are associated with different sports teams related to clubs, schools and recreational sports.
In addition, Dr. Khaldun said that while children are less likely to become seriously ill with COVID-19, they still can. The state also monitors cases of Multisystemic Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, known as MIS-C, a syndrome associated with COVID-19 in children that can cause inflammation of multiple organs.
So far, 89 cases of MIS-C have been identified in children in Michigan.
“We still need to protect our children from this terrible virus,” said Khaldun.
The state also continues to track variants. Currently, 736 cases of variant B117 have been identified in 31 counties across the state. Michigan has the second highest number of cases of this variant in the United States, behind Florida.
Dr. Khaldun said that most cases with this variant are associated with outbreaks in congregated environments, but the variant is also spreading in the community.
“I am concerned about our current numbers,” she said. “It is imperative that we protect ourselves by wearing masks and distancing ourselves socially.”
“How it happens depends on what we all do collectively to protect ourselves and our families.”
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