Here is the latest information on the coronavirus in Michigan, including the number of cases state officials report and other updates affecting West Michigan.
Sunday's cases
In Sunday's update, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 633 new cases of COVID-19, making the total 31,424. This is the third day in a row that the daily case count was below 1,000.
State officials also recorded 83 daily deaths; the death toll is now 2,391. The state's fatality rate rose to 8%, but health officials say that number will likely drop as more people with mild illness are tested for the virus.
The Michigan Department of Corrections reported 556 cases and 17 deaths. There are 51 cases within the Federal Corrections Institute.
In West Michigan, cases have exceeded 500 in Kent County, and Ottawa County is reported more than 100.
On Saturdays, the state is also updating the number of recoveries, which has reached 3,237. A recovery is classified as anyone who is a confirmed COVID-19 case and 30 days out from the onset of their symptoms.
As of Saturday, every county in Michigan's Lower Peninsula is reporting cases of COVID-19.
Across the state, 3,403 coronavirus patients remain in the hospital, 1,115 are on ventilators and 1,344 are in critical. To date, 638 people with COVID-19 have been discharged from the hospital.
Michigan's chief medical executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said Friday that the rate in the growth of new cases has plateaued.
"These are positive signs and it means that social distancing is working," Khaldun said. "A plateau in cases still means there are a lot of cases and deaths occurring, and we have to be mindful of this as we move forward with our response."
The state emphasizes that the report of cumulative data is "provisional and subject to change. As public health investigations of individual cases continue, there will be corrections to the status and details of referred cases that result in changes to this report." The state is also no longer reporting new cases by county.
Health officials have clarified two spikes in the death toll, on April 10 included 30 additional deaths and on April 16 included 65 additional deaths from past death certificate data. The state will review death certificates weekly. If a patient who dies is matched to a confirmed COVID-19 case, this will count towards the state's death toll.
Coronavirus cases in Kent County rise to 503
Over the past nine days, confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Kent County have doubled and health officials are reporting a recent climb in cases.
There are now 503 cases and 25 deaths within the county.
Sunday, 43 new cases were recorded, which is the second highest daily case count Kent County has seen since the pandemic first started. Friday, health officials reported the highest daily count of 45.
Kent County is seeing the biggest outbreak outside of southeast Michigan, which has been hammered by thousands of COVID-19 cases. The majority of the Kent County's cases are in the city of Grand Rapids.
Whitmer: Reopening state stalled by lack of virus testing
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Sunday a lack of virus testing supplies is delaying such steps but maintains most residents support her actions despite a protest drawing thousands of people to the Michigan Capitol this past week.
Whitmer argued Sunday that Michigan has the capability to triple the level of testing being done, but are lacking needed supplies that the federal government could help provide.
Lacking national coordination, US states team up on when to reopen
President Donald Trump, in a roller-coaster week of reversals and contradictions, told governors to “call your own shots” on lifting stay-at-home orders once the coronavirus threat subsides. But then he took to Twitter to push some to reopen their economies quickly and tell them it was their job to ramp up testing.
“This is mayhem,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday. “We need a coordinated approach between the federal government and the states.”
In the absence of one, Cuomo and sixteen other governors representing half the nation's population have organized three separate clusters of states each committed to working together on the details of relaunching businesses, schools and events while avoiding a resurgence of infections.
The pacts have formed among states mostly with Democratic governors on the West Coast, around the Great Lakes and in the densely populated Northeast, covering several big metropolitan areas that cross state lines, including New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.
Saturday's cases
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said there were 768 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total to 30,791. This is the second day in a row and the fourth day this week where the daily case count was below 1,000.
State officials also reported 81 new deaths, which is the lowest daily death toll since April 5. The total number of deaths has reached 2,308. Michigan's fatality rate is at 7%, but that will likely drop as more people with mild illness from the virus are tested.
The Michigan Department of Corrections is reporting 550 cases and 17 deaths. There are 45 cases within the Federal Correctional Institute.
As of Saturday, every county in Michigan's Lower Peninsula is reporting cases of COVID-19.
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