The number of COVID-19 cases in Michigan is falling, putting an end to the horrendous surge that had filled up the state’s hospitals. Even with the fall in cases, Michigan still is the most affected state by the COVID-19 in the US.
According to the data released by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Michigan had recorded a total of 4,856 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. This shows a 38% drop in the number of active cases compared to the last two weeks’ data. Moreover, nearly 3,362 people had been hospitalized after contracting COVID-19, denoting a steep fall from the 4,208 hospitalizations reported the previous week.
Even though the vaccination rollout is in full swing, only 41.9% of Michigan’s residents have received their first dose of the vaccine, just 1% below the nation’s average. The state had witnessed an unprecedented rise in vaccinations when the number of coronavirus cases grew. However, the number of vaccinations has plunged in the past two weeks, owing to hesitancy on part of the people for taking the jab, and the sudden halt in the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
According to the New York Times, Michigan is facing the highest number of infections – it is primarily responsible for more than 9% of the country’s new coronavirus cases. The situation hasn’t gotten any better as 9.4% of administered COVID-19 tests came back positive on Tuesday, almost going down by eight points in three weeks. Despite the decrease in the number of cases, Michigan is still witnessing a much higher positivity rate as compared to other busy states including California and New York that bear a total rate of 2%, as compared to Michigan’s stark 3.9%.
A Michigan-based epidemiologist, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, expressed his concerns at the strikingly high rate of infections but also went on to state that the situation is now far better than what it was a few weeks back. “We are in a situation now where, thankfully, cases look like they’ve declined now for about a week, and hospitalizations have started to decline too,” said Dr. Sayed.
Although the exact reason behind the surge in Michigan is unknown, experts believe that the new UK variant may be responsible for it. Several locals went on to say that the people of Michigan have adopted a very casual approach to the virus and stopped practicing social distancing at all. In fact, Governor Gretchen Whitmer had emphatically declared that last year’s lockdowns and strict mandates would not be implemented this year. As a result, the coronavirus cases in the state increased twofold.
