LANSING, Mich. — On Thursday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported the highest daily case count of COVID-19 to date. But they later clarified the staggering 2,030 cases, saying the large number was due to a "system slowdown."
The state health department said that Thursday's case count includes some that could have been included in Wednesday's report. They explained it saying, everyday tens of thousands of tests are sent to the health department electronically. These results are processed through software that connects health reporting systems.
"The evening of Oct. 14, a slowdown in the processing of messages from COVID-19 testing laboratories to the Michigan Disease Surveillance System was noted. The issue has been resolved," a press release said.
The 2,030 reported cases Thursday topped the peak in April, when the state reported 1,953 daily cases.
Even if the daily case count was higher because of a data slowdown, the state has been warning residents to be cautious as cases trend upward. The state health department said as the fall and flue season start, they have seen the number of positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rise.
“Michiganders did a great job of bringing our cases down after a surge in the spring,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, MDHHS chief medical executive and chief deputy for health in a press release on Tuesday. “Basic things like wearing masks, maintaining a physical distance from others and washing hands worked. Yet as the colder months and flu season have arrived, we now see a concerning jump in our cases – a trend we can reverse if we all take this seriously and follow best practices to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
The more cases, the greater risk of community spread. Another element is that people are gathering indoors more as the weather gets cooler.
“State and local public health officials have been concerned about the risk of a surge in cases in the fall, and this recent increase should remind us all to refocus on preventing the spread of COVID-19,” said Nick Derusha, president of the Michigan Association for Local Public Health.
Michigan's 7-day rolling average of cases have been above 1,000 for the past several days, which it hasn't consistently been at this level since April.
The state health department is encouraging people to wear masks and take precautions to slow the spread of COVID-19.
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