Mobility and COVID-19 data indicates that many people in Kent County heeded the pre-Thanksgiving warnings. But, health officials say it's not the time to let up.
"I know West Michigan folks have sacrificed a lot," said Brian Hartl, with the Kent County Health Department. "We just want to, you know, thank them for what they've done over that timeframe because I think we're in this good situation where we're seeing numbers decrease, because of the behaviors of our community members."
A New York Times data visualization citing data from Cuebiq, shows Kent County residents reduced contacts by 76% on Thanksgiving this year compared to 2019.
The highest decrease in the Midwest occurred in Wayne County at 87%.
Hartl, who is Kent County's epidemiology supervisor, says he is not surprised to see that percentage based on the way daily case counts have been leveling out and more recently, declining.
"Over the past four days, our case numbers each day have been below 200, which is incredible," he said.
Hospitalizations are also decreasing. But, the number of lives lost to coronavirus, which is typically the most lagging indicator, is still high.
"Over the past week, we had 30 deaths reported to us," Hartl said. "So, that is still sobering and concerning."
Hartl says the county is in a better place than it was pre-Thanksgiving.
"That's not a green light by any means," he said. "I really want to stress the fact that you know we're in this place because people have taken those precautions and not gathered and really done the right thing over the past couple of weeks."
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