Coronavirus data for Thursday, Oct. 14: Growing number of youth infections, school outbreaks – MLive.com

October 14, 2021

Youth COVID-19 cases continue to be a concern for Michigans health officials, as the states case rates continue to climb and children remain less protected against infection.

The Department of Health and Human Services estimated that 425 children under the age of 12 become infected with coronavirus each day over the last week, which is 50 more per day than a week ago.

For one, children younger than 12 are not yet eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, and less than 50% of teens who are eligible have gotten vaccinated. That could change later this fall, but in the meantime, the younger populations have less protection against developing COVID-19.

Another key factor is the return to in-person learning in schools, and the lack of mask requirements that were in place last year.

K-12 schools are by far the most common setting for reported COVID-19 outbreaks, with 393 active outbreaks as of Oct. 7. The next highest setting was long-term care facilities with 138 active outbreaks, and childcare programs with 42.

Throughout the state, 222 school districts have mask policies in K-12 settings. Another 36 began the year with mask requirements but rescinded them, and 275 districts never had a requirement.

According to an analysis by the University of Michigans School of Public Health, schools with few mask rules have reported significantly more cases per 100,000 students than schools with partial or full mask requirements.

While children tend to have less severe cases of COVID-19 compared to older adults, they arent invincible to serious illness. Pediatric hospitalizations have been steadily increasing since August.

With an in-patient census for patients 18 and younger at about 31 per day, hospitals are seeing the most young patients since early June. That census was around 60 at the peak of the spring surge, but was below 15 for most of the summer.

Below is a closer look at the latest state and county coronavirus data, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vaccinations: 63.1% of eligible residents have received at least one dose

Another 54,895 Michigan residents have gotten their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine since the start of the month, pushing the rate of 12 and older residents with a shot from 62.5% to 63.1%.

Its a slow climb, but the state is now up to more than 5.4 million residents at least partially vaccinated, and more than 5 million fully vaccinated (58.7%).

Below is a breakdown by age group of Michigan residents who have gotten one or more shots and those who are fully immunized as of Tuesday, Oct. 12.

The interactive map below shows the number of who have people 12 and older who have received as least one dose of vaccine so far. The numbers are based on residence of the vaccine recipient vs. where the the vaccine was given.

You can hold your cursor over a county to see the underlying data, which includes a breakdown by four age groups: Those 65 and older; ages 64 to 50; ages 49 to 20, and under 20. It includes numbers on vaccines initiated and completed.

Cannot see the map? Click here.

Below is a chart that ranks counties from most vaccinated to least vaccinated. Cannot see it? Click here.

At least 309,943 people have now received a third dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Thats nearly a 50% increase from last weeks total.

Third doses of the Pfizer vaccine are now endorsed for people older than 65, long-term care facility residents, people 18-64 with underlying medical conditions and people whose occupations or work settings pose a risk.

Third doses of the Moderna vaccine are available to immunocompromised individuals, including those who have received an organ transplant. The FDA could soon approve a Moderna booster for more people, as its advisory committee is scheduled to consider further recommendations Thursday, Oct. 14.

New cases: The state is averaging 3,745 new confirmed cases a day

That seven-day average is up 7.3% from last week when Michigan was reporting 3,491 cases per day.

Cases have been on the rise since late July, when the health department was reporting less than 500 cases per day. While 42 state are seeing cases plateau or decline over the last two weeks, Michigan is one of the eight that continue to see an upward climb.

Below is a chart that illustrates the seven-day rate of daily reported cases throughout the pandemic. Cant see the chart below? Click here.

Case trends are highest among 5-to-18-year-olds, unlike previous surges, which had larger proportions of cases in adults.

Of Michigans 83 counties, 61 counties reported an increase in weekly cases per 1 million residents for the week of Oct. 7-13, compared to the week prior.

Osceola, Arenac, Clare, Ogemaw and Montcalm counties have the highest weekly averages per capita. Of those counties, only Ogemaw has reported a decrease in new cases week-over-week.

Counties with the lowest per capita rates included Leelanau, Chippewa, Presque Isle, Wayne and Berrien counties.

Below 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. 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.

Cant see the database above? Click here.

The map below is shaded by the states six risk-assessment levels. This is based on new cases reported per day per million people for the week of Oct. 7-13.

The arrows on the map indicate whether the total number of new cases reported in the last seven days has gone up or down compared to the previous week. Readers can put their cursor over a county to see the underlying data. (Hint: You can drag the map with your cursor to see the entire Upper Peninsula.)

Cannot see the map? Click here.

Positivity rate: The seven-day average is 11% and rising

Michigans daily positive test rate is the highest it has been since the last week in April 2021, and its likely to continue climbing.

Of the 71,068 diagnostic tests processed between Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 11-12, about 12.3% came back positive for coronavirus. The highest rate reported to-date was 18% and came during the peak of the spring surge.

The rate was at 2% or less for most of the month of June, before beginning to climb in July. Daily rates jumped into the double digits last month, where theyve remained, indicating a high level of coronavirus transmission within the community.

There were 31 counties that reported positive test rates of 18% or higher during the week of Oct. 6-12, which is eight more than last week. Ogemaw leads all others with a rate of 29.7%, followed by Luce (29.5)%, Keweenaw (27.8%), Osceola (27%), Antrim (24.8%), and Iosco (24.8%).

Meanwhile, Baraga County (0.79%) was the only county with a positive test rate lower than the 5% threshold set by the World Health Organization to indicate high levels of community transmission. Washtenaw and Wayne counties were the next lowest at 5.4% and 5.9%, respectively.

The chart below allows you to look up any county by name to see the seven-day average positivity rate. The chart compares the average from the past seven days to the average for the previous week.

Cant see the database? Click here.

The interactive map below shows the seven-day average testing rate by county. You can put your cursor over a county to see the underlying data.

Cant see the map above? Click here.

Hospitalizations: 2,190 in-patients

As of Wednesday, Oct. 13, hospitals statewide were treating 2,166 adult patients with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 and 24 children. There were 545 patients in the ICU, including 282 on ventilators.

The total COVID patient count was up 15% from one week prior, when there were 1,901 patients including 484 in the ICU. For context, the state surpassed 3,900 hospitalizations at the peak of all three prior surges, while the low points of the pandemic have been around 300 patients at a time.

COVID patients make up about 9% of adult in-patient hospital beds.

Deaths: The state is reporting 33 COVID deaths a day

Michigan was averaging 30 deaths per day a week ago, and 21 per day a month ago.

Evaluating the states COVID-19 death rate has become more challenging since the health department moved to reporting data three days per week. The average is also based on the day the deaths are reported by the state, not the date of death, so its difficult to fully illustrate the day-to-day trends.

In the 30 days ending Oct. 4, there were at least 887 deaths, of which 78% were 60 years or older. Of the deaths under 60, 109 were in their 50s, 49 in their 40s, 23 in their 30s, eight in their 20s, and six deaths between ages 0 and 19 years.

Since the start of the pandemic, Michigan has reported 21,459 confirmed COVID deaths, plus another 1,405 probable deaths, in which a physician and/or antigen test ruled it COVID-19 but no confirmatory PCR test was done.

Below is a chart illustrating the seven-day average for reported deaths throughout the pandemic. Cant see the chart below? Click here.

States overall risk assessment: All regions remain at highest risk level

In assigning the risk scores, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services looks at factors such as new cases and deaths, test positivity rates, and patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

There are six levels of risk, from low to levels A through E. For yet another week, all eight regions of the state are at risk level E.

Cant see the above map? Click here.

For more statewide data, visit MLives coronavirus data page.

To find a testing site near you, check out the states online test find send an email to COVID19@michigan.gov, or call 888-535-6136 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Privacy Overview

Strictly Necessary Cookies