MICHIGAN, USA — 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
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 547 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday. This brings the total to 43,754.
There were 29 deaths recorded, which is the lowest increase since 21 deaths were reported on March 29. The death toll has reached 4,049.
The reporting of daily cases and deaths tends to lag on the weekends, with similar drops being recorded the previous two weekends.
The state health department is updating the number of recoveries on Saturdays. The latest data from Saturday, May 2 shows that 15,659 people have recovered from the virus in Michigan. This nearly double the 8,342 recoveries from last Saturday. A recovery is counted as a confirmed COVID-19 patient who is 30 days out from the onset of their symptoms.
The Michigan Department of Corrections reports 1,844 cases and 42 deaths. The Michigan National Guard will be assisting the MDOC to test all of the inmates at Upper Peninsula prisons starting on Monday.
The Federal Corrections Institute reports 92 cases and two deaths.
Michigan started reporting the number of cases at long term care facilities. That data can be seen here.
The number of hospitalizations continues to drop with the lasted data reported on Saturday, May 2. There are 2,100 COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the state, including 713 on ventilators and 850 in critical care. There have been 822 people discharged from the hospital.
Michigan's case fatality rate is 9%, but health officials say this will likely decline as testing of people with mild symptoms becomes more widely available.
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."
Whitmer says 'racism' fueled protests over virus response
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says gun-toting protesters who demonstrated inside the state Capitol “depicted some of the worst racism” and “awful parts” of U.S. history.
Whitmer made the assertion during a Sunday appearance on CNN and before the release of the latest number of deaths in Michigan related to the coronavirus.
Grand Haven State Park closing parking lots on Sunday
Grand Haven State Park officials will be closing the parking lots on Sunday, May 3.
The city said that they are taking this step due to "overwhelming crowds ignoring physical distancing requirements on Saturday, May 2."
Kent County looking for contact tracing volunteers
Contact tracing is how health officials are tracking the spread of the coronavirus.
If someone tests positive for COVID-19, they will tell the officials everywhere they have gone and everyone they have come into contact with, from grocery store employees to friends and family. The health officials will then get in contact with everyone who was potentially exposed to the virus through this positive case, and they will give the people guidance on what to do next.
Saturday's cases
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 851 confirmed cases of coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the total to 43,207. There was a dip in new cases last weekend, but cases hovered around 1,000 for most of the week.
There were 154 deaths recorded, which included 75 from the review of death certificate data. The death toll has now reached 4,020. The state health department reviews death certificate data three times a week.
The Michigan Department of Corrections reports 1,825 cases and 42 deaths from the virus. The Federal Corrections Unit has 93 cases and two deaths.
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