GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Here is the latest information on the coronavirus in Michigan, including the number of cases state officials report and other updates affecting West Michigan.
Monday's cases
On Monday, Michigan's cases reached 25,635 with 995 new cases. This is the second day in a row that daily cases dropped below 1,000.
There were 115 new deaths reported, to make the total number of deaths 1,602.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said they are "cautiously optimistic" as the rate of new cases appears to be slowing down. On Sunday, there were 645 new cases, which was the first day since March 29 that cases were below 1,000. However, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said they could not say yet if this represents a "true decline."
"We are starting to see early signs of a plateau in the rate of growth of COVID-19 cases here in the state of Michigan, and particularly in Southeast Michigan," said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state's chief medical executive. "Despite the reductions in the rate of growth, there are still many cases and deaths every single day."
Khaldun said they are monitoring the entire state, and seeing increases in some areas like Genesse County. "While this is hard on everyone. I want to be clear, keeping up on social distance and measures too soon, would be incredibly devastating. A lot more people will die. And our hospitals will get overwhelmed if we don't do this right," she said.
Testing data shows there was a decline in the number of positive tests on April 11. Of 3,067 tests, 877 were positive and 2,190 were negative.
The Michigan Department of Corrections reports a total of 370 cases with eight deaths. And there are 21 cases within the Federal Correctional Institute.
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.
There are 3,986 COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized, 1,570 are in critical care and 1,364 are on ventilators.
The latest data on recoveries shows that 433 Michiganders have recovered from the virus. A recovery is counted a COVID-19 positive individual who is 30 days out from the onset of symptoms. Recovery data is updated every Saturday.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services clarified that the spike in the death total on Friday, April 10 included 30 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.
Expiration of Michigan driver's licenses extended to June 30
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order on Monday, April 13 that extends the expiration of driver's licenses, state ID cards and commercial vehicle registrations that would have expired during the state's state of emergency.
The order takes effect April 13 at 11:59 p.m. and it temporarily extends:
- Driver's licenses, learner's permits and commercial driver's licenses set to expire between March 1 and May 31. The expiration is extended until June 30.
- Commercial vehicle registration, set to expire on or after March. This is extended until June 30.
Michigan liquor board offers spirits buy-back program to bars and restaurants
The Michigan Liquor Control Commission started a spirits buy-back program to offer financial relief to bars and restaurants affected by closure due to COVID-19.
The program was created under an executive order signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday, April 13.
The order allows the MLCC to use its revolving fund to buy spirits from bars and restaurants that bought the inventory before March 16 at the full purchase cost. Any facility approved for the program then has 90 days after the state's emergency declaration is lifted to buy back the spirits.
Whitmer extends 3 executive orders
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended three executive orders on Monday as the state is still dealing with COVID-19. All three had been previously issued:
- Places of public accommodation, like bars, restaurants, theaters and more are to remain closed until the end of the stay at home order on May 1
- Seasonal weight restrictions on roads are lifted for vehicles carrying essential supplies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This was extended until May 11.
- State administrative hearings are allowed to be held by video conference or phone in place of in-person hearings. This was extended until May 11.
Benton Harbor nursing home sees outbreak of COVID-19
The Berrien County Health Department and Spectrum Health are investigating an outbreak of COVID-19 at a skilled nursing facility in Benton Harbor. Four employees and four residents of Hallmark Living Benton Harbor have all contracted the disease.
The health department said that three of the residents have died, but they were terminally ill before COVID-19.
The employees who have tested positive are isolating at home and do not have contact with the facility's residents. The residents who tested positive were isolated in their rooms.
Whitmer giving update Monday afternoon
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is planning to give an update Monday at 3 p.m. on the state's COVID-19 response. She will be joined by Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state's chief medical executive.
Watch the press briefing here:
Sunday's cases
Michigan saw a significant decline in the number of cases and deaths reported on Sunday, but state health officials are cautiously saying it might not represent a "true decline."
Sunday's daily update showed there were 645 new cases, which is about half the number reported on Saturday. This brings the total to 24,638.
There were 95 new deaths, bringing the death toll to 1,487. This is the first day in a week that the death toll has dipped below 100.
"We cannot say if this represents a true decline in COVID-19 cases and deaths in our state," the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release. "Reported case counts may reflect a reduction in the amount of laboratory testing performed over the weekend and holiday."
The state said that with limited data to compare, previous reports show that there are consistent decreases on Sunday.
"Single day fluctuations in the number of confirmed cases may not be significant, as a number of external factors can affect data reporting," MDHHS said.
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