KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Health officials are reporting that three more individuals have died from COVID-19 in Kalamazoo County.
Overall the death toll among county residents is 25 according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
County data shows that 5 of the fatalities were among individuals ages 60-69, 6 were ages 70-79, and the largest percentage is people over 80-years-old with 13 recorded deaths. One death has not yet been recorded in an age category.
At last reported the current total of people testing positive is 575, with a rise of 12 new confirmed cases on Friday.
More young people are getting sickened by the virus in Kalamazoo County compared to the state at-large. The county’s official COVID-19 webpage shows that while only 2.1% of cases statewide are among people ages 0-19, the percentage in Kalamazoo County is 12.2%.
In Michigan 46,326 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 4,393 deaths are linked to the illness.
While the majority of statewide cases are in the Metro Detroit area, other areas of the state including Southwest Michigan counties are continuing to report a growing number of cases.
The county now ranks 8th in the state for the most confirmed cases and 10th for the most recorded deaths.
Kalamazoo County health officials also say that the increase in testing capability and the number of people getting tested has given a better depiction of how many people have the virus compared to earlier in the year.
The Family Health Center held it’s fifth drive-thru testing clinic on Thursday at Vicksburg High School and another one is being planned at Kalamazoo Central High School on May 14th.
Western Michigan University’s WMed Health has teamed up with the county health department to run another drive-thru facility for people referred by their healthcare provider.
Both Bronson Methodist Hospital and Ascension Borgess Hospital are also testing patients at their facilities.
At a virtual meeting this week, county health officials discussed steps being taken to protect public safety and how re-opening the local economy may look.
“I think it’s important to say out loud that the risk is not going to be zero, and our community is gonna need to be ready to adjust our strategies as the coming months evolve, and I really do mean months,” said Medical Director Dr. William Nettleton. “We’re not on a timeline of weeks here, our community needs to be thinking in terms of months. It’s important to think about that timeline.”
