DETROIT _ Michigan set a new daily record for reported coronavirus cases with 2,030 new cases while it reported 32 more deaths Thursday as fears of a potential second wave continue to linger.
The state's previous daily high for new cases was 1,953 on April 3 as the virus slammed Michigan in the spring. While hospitalizations and deaths linked to COVID-19 remain well below those during the early peak, both statistics are also trending upward.
"We know case numbers are going up across the state, which is why we continue to urge all Michiganders to take precautions against COVID-19, including wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands and staying home if they are ill," said Lynn Sutfin, spokeswoman of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
A reporting issue did play a role in Thursday's daily case number. State health officials were made aware of a recent slowdown in electronic laboratory processing that began Tuesday. The issue was resolved and the processing of confirmed cases is fully operational, Sutfin told The Detroit News.
"The system has been continuously receiving and assigning case referrals, but slowness in the messaging process delayed some of the entries into the Michigan Disease Surveillance System by up to 15 hours," she said. "As a result, today's report included some referrals that were delayed from the Wednesday report. No data has been lost."
While the reporting issue might have inflated Thursday's total, the seven-day average for daily new cases now stands at 1,293, the highest seven-day average since April 5-11, when it was 1,395.
The additions bring the state's total number of cases to 141,091 and total deaths to 6,973.
Deaths linked to COVID-19 are also trending upward while they remain well below the peak in April. Before this week, Michigan hadn't experienced a week with at least two days when 30 or more new deaths were reported since early June.
Michigan's numbers are higher when probable cases are included. Michigan has 156,913 probable and confirmed cases and 7,302 confirmed and probable deaths, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
As of Saturday, the state considers 104,270 people recovered from the virus.
The state tested 43,000 individuals Wednesday. Out of those people, 42,100 results came back negative, giving Michigan a 4.5% positivity rate.
The daily increases are putting October on pace to generate Michigan's biggest month for new cases since April, when the virus peaked in the state. The daily average for new cases has increased each month since June.
"It is very possible that this is the beginning of a second wave," Michigan Chief Medical Executive Joneigh Khaldun told a Tuesday meeting of state and public health officials.
In a Detroit News interview last week, Khaldun said she is "very concerned" about the upward trend of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across the state.
Hospitalizations tied to the virus are also increasing. As of Wednesday, the state reported 1,028 adults hospitalized in Michigan with suspected or confirmed cases, a 73% increase from the 592 hospitalizations reported a month earlier.
The October trend is a 35% increase over September's daily average of 740 cases. The daily average for August was 673.
The state is averaging 89 cases per million people per day.
The number of virus outbreaks was also updated Monday to include those reported as of Oct. 8.
Michigan's schools have recorded 26 new outbreaks as of Monday. Of the outbreaks, 18 were at K-12 schools. See an updated list of school outbreaks online.
Overall across the state, Michigan has 123 outbreaks, which are defined as two or more cases with a link by place and time indicating a shared exposure outside of a household.
While summer spikes in numbers largely involved younger people, who are largely less susceptible to more serious cases, the state is starting to see an uptick of infections in its older population as well, Khaldun said.
Across the state, the increase in cases is believed to be largely attributable to gatherings _ be it social events, reopened schools or open businesses _ especially as some of those events move indoors in cooler weather, she said.
"We need to remain very concerned about what we're seeing across the state, and we need people to stay vigilant," Khaldun said.
More tests are coming back positive and more residents are being hospitalized for the virus. Michigan now has 3.6% of COVID-19 tests returned positive, compared with 3.4% last week and less than 3% in June, according to the state. There are also 767 COVID-19 hospitalizations compared with 586 hospitalizations a week ago, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The state's largest city, Detroit has 14,791 cases and 1,546 deaths from the virus.
During a 40-minute interview with WJBK-TV's Roop Raj on Wednesday, Mayor Mike Duggan spoke about how Detroit was one of the biggest hot spots in the country during the pandemic, but "it was amazing how fast we bent the curve."
The city had more than 1,000 in Detroit hospitals consecutively during March and April. Those in hospitals declined to 75 this week; however, Duggan said people are being put in jeopardy as more restrictions are lifted.
"If we are on the traditional flu trajectory, by December or January we could be back in crisis mode," he said. "At the very time the governor's orders are most needed, they are being put in jeopardy. These make absolutely no sense, but I believe these numbers are going to continue to climb into the winter months. And we are going to have to be more vigilant, not less."
