As the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services applies more restrictions on Michigan businesses and residents, the data shows that coronavirus transmission continues to grow throughout the state.
Michigan shutters in-person dining, high school sports in response to COVID-19 case surge
Michigan recorded 44,019 new cases last week, a seven-day average of 6,288 cases, up 49% from the previous seven-day average of 4,230.
Meanwhile, Genesee, Kent, Ottawa and Allegan counties are now among the 25 Michigan counties with an average positivity rate of 15% or higher on coronavirus tests over the past seven days.
Other large counties already on that list include Macomb, Saginaw, Bay, Muskegon, Berrien and Van Buren.
A total of 59 counties of Michigan’s 83 counties are now above a 10% positivity rate and 79 are above 5% as a seven-day average. The latter is the benchmark recommended by the World Health Organization to safely keep schools and the economy reopened.
The state currently has a 13.3% seven-day average positivity rate on coronavirus tests. That’s up from 9.5% a week ago.
Positivity rate is one of the metrics used by the Michigan Department of Heath and Human Services in assessing coronavirus risk levels. The scale used by MDHHS has six levels -- “low” plus Levels A-E.
Here’s a look at the seven-day average by county, broken down by the state’s metric for positivity rates.
- Level E (over 20%): Dickinson, Delta, Muskegon and Hillsdale.
- Level D (15-20%): 21 counties, highest to lowest -- Berrien, Branch, Allegan, Macomb, Baraga, Bay, Crawford, Ottawa, Cass, Lake, St. Clair, Saginaw, Newaygo, Ken, Gogebic, Van Buren, Gladwin, St. Joseph, Barry, Ontonagon and Genesee.
- Level C (10-15%): 34 counties, highest to lowest -- Lapeer, Monroe, Ionia, Calhoun, Iosco, Otsego, Tuscola, Oceana, Oakland, Isabella, Arenac, Livingston, Midland, Kalamazoo, Menominee, Kalkaska, Eaton, Emmet, Missaukee, Clinton, Shiawassee, Jackson, Roscommon, Mecosta, Marquette, Lenawee, Benzie, Wayne, Osceola, Iron, Ingham, Wexford, Grand Traverse and Luce.
- Level B (7-10%): 12 counties, highest to lowest -- Montcalm, Cheboygan, Montmorency, Antrim, Clare, Ogemaw, Huron, Leelanau, Alcona, Charlevoix, Gratiot and Mason.
- Level A (3-7%): 11 counties -- Washtenaw, Sanilac, Houghton, Alger, Mackinac, Manistee, Keweenaw, Chippewa, Presque Isle, Alpena and Oscoda.
- Low (under 3%): Schoolcraft.
The interactive map below shows the seven-day average testing rate by county. If you can’t see the map, click here. You can put your cursor over a county to see the underlying cata.
New cases per capita
New daily cases per capita is another metric used by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to access coronavirus risk.
In this metric -- which calculates the average number of new cases per 1 million residents -- all 83 counties are at Level E, the highest risk level on the MDHHS scale. The cutoff for Level E is 150 cases per day per million residents.
Here is an online database that allows readers to see the number of new coronavirus cases in the past seven days compared to the previous week, as well as the per capita number that adjusts for population.
Can’t see the chart? Click here.
The current scores are based on new cases reported Nov. 8-14. The map below is shaded based on the state’s six levels. The arrows indicate whether the total number of new cases reported in the last seven days has gone up or down compared to the previous seven days (Nov. 1-7).
Readers can put their cursor over a county to see the underlying data. If you can’t see the map, click here. (Hint: You can drag the map with your cursor to see the entire U.P.)
MDHHS overall score by region
MDHHS has assigned an overall score to each of the state’s MI Start regions, looking at factors such as new cases and deaths per capita, test positivity rates, number of tests administered and emergency department visits for COVID-19 symptoms.
The overall scores were last updated on Nov. 11.
All eight of Michigan’s MI Start regions are now at the highest level the state uses to assess coronavirus risk.
This interactive map shows those eight regions and their current scores. You can put your cursor over a county to see the underlying data.
(The state’s MI Start districts: Region 1 is the Detroit region; Region 2 is Grand Rapids; Region 3, Kalamazoo; Region 4, Saginaw; Region 5, Lansing; Region 6, Traverse City; Region 7, Lansing, and Region 8, the Upper Peninsula.)
Below are online databases that allow readers to look up county-level data for each of the last 20 days.
Cases by day it was reported to the state
First is a chart showing new cases reported to the state each day for the past 20 days. This is based on when a confirmed coronavirus test is reported to the state, which means the patient first became sick days before.
You can call up a chart for any county, and you can put your cursor over a bar to see the date and number of cases. (As of Sept. 1, the state stopped reporting numbers on Sundays.)
(In a few instances, a county reported a negative number (decline) in daily new cases, following a retroactive reclassification by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. In those instances, we subtracted cases from the prior date and put 0 in the reported date.)
The next chart below shows new cases for the past 20 days based on onset of symptoms. In this chart, numbers for the most recent days are incomplete because of the lag time between people getting sick and getting a confirmed coronavirus test result, which can take up to a week or more.
You can call up a chart for any county, and you can put your cursor over a bar to see the date and number of cases.
More localized maps
Below are two maps created by the EpiBayes research group at University of Michigan’s Department of Epidemiology, which has access to sub-county data collected by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The interactive maps break down the state into 10 kilometer hexogons to provide more a more localized look at where coronavirus cases are occurring. You can click here to get to the research project website.
The first map looks at confirmed and probable coronavirus cases in the past week. You can click on a hexagon to see the underlying data.
You can use the triangle button at the upper right of the map to toggle to the second map, which shows total confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Latest daily report
On Saturday, Nov. 14, the state reported 7,072 new cases of coronavirus and 65 new deaths.
The map below shows total confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths since the start of the pandemic. You can put your cursor over a county to see the underlying numbers.
For more statewide data, visit MLive’s coronavirus data page, here. To find a testing site near you, check out the state’s online test finder, here, send an email to COVID19@michigan.gov, or call 888-535-6136 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
For more data on COVID-19 in Michigan, visit https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/.
Read more on MLive:
Staffing, not bed capacity, is the real problem as Michigan hospitals face coronavirus surge
Coronavirus testing availability varies throughout Michigan