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The COVID-19 infection rate in Michigan now matches the highest level we experienced last spring.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ rolling seven day average of confirmed infections rose to 1,620 in yesterday’s report. That’s just six below the first pandemic peak in early April.
The good news is that the death rate remains far below early levels, although the pandemic is still claiming 19 Michiganders per day on average.
Houghton County is no longer among the worst of the worst in Michigan. The new hot spot is Marquette County, which has averaged 90 new confirmed cases per 100,000 residents over the past week. Dickinson County averaged 84 cases per 100,000 residents. Delta and Alger Counties are at 52 cases, Iron County is at 48 cases, and Ontonagon County is at 37. Houghton’s rate has fallen to just 17 confirmed cases per day per 100,000 residents.
Marquette County’s high number is partly driven by the worsening COVID-19 outbreak at the Marquette Branch Prison.
Yesterday’s report from the Michigan Department of Corrections says there are 507 active cases at the Marquette Branch – that’s 80 percent of all the active cases within the entire state correctional system. The number of staff members who have tested positive is up to 117.
Last week, 240 Marquette inmates who had tested negative for the virus were transferred to the Newberry Correctional Facility, to get them out of harm’s way. They are being isolated from other Newberry inmates.
The state has brought emergency staffers into the Marquette facility to help cover for the ill employees.
At the Baraga Correctional Facility, the state has reported that four prisoners have tested positive since the pandemic began. None of the cases are listed as active. 19 staff members have tested positive.
