HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Michigan’s COVID-19 case count is 65.
Oakland County has the highest number of cases, 16, followed by Wayne, 9 (8 in Detroit); Macomb 8; Washtenaw, 7; and Kent 5. Ingham and St. Clair have 2 apiece.Bay, Charlevoix, Jackson, Leelanau, Monroe, Montcalm, Ottawa, and Otsego each have a single case.
Men have slightly more cases and comprise 58 percent of those diagnosed.
The state now lists cases for age groups from 0 to 19 year, then in 10-year increments,. Every age group has at least one case. The largest number of cases, 28 percent, are from 60 to 29 years old, followed by 40 to 49 years, 17 percent; 50 to 59 years, 14 percent; 70 to 79 years, 9 percent; and 80 years and old, 3 percent.
The state lab continues processing about 115 tests each day, and public health officials are concerned that case demand will soon outpace the number of available tests. That’s just one reason for the increasing ways government officals are emphasizing the importance to slowing the spread of COVID-19, an aggressive virus that generally attacks people over 60 — though younger people are not completely immune.
U.S. hospitals face a crush of patients as the disease spreads and the numbers mount. This has happened in countries around the world, starting in China and following the same general path all viral illnesses do, traveling from human to human, who themselves are traveling.
Monday’s one additional case, state officials say, is a Macomb County woman with a history of domestic travel. People can expect more cases being reported starting Tuesday, March 17, 2020, when the timing and format for case counts changes.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will begin updating numbers online daily at 2 p.m., showing cases and expected death counts per county, with those also listed in 10-year age groups, as well as divided by sex.
“It is important to provide the public with accurate data regarding this outbreak,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. “As the number of people tested has drastically increased in recent days, our team has transitioned the way it prioritizes and reports testing.”
State officials say county health departments will be able to release more details on specific case counts than state-level counts will have.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced Sunday night that there had been 12 more COVID-19 cases.
The numbers have been going up everyday since Tuesday night when the first two confirmed cases were announced. There have been no deaths reported in Michigan, as of 8 p.m. March 16.
Federal rule changes announced on March 16 allow MDHHS Bureau of Laboratory officials to announce positive test as confirmed (instead of, as in the past, as presumptive positive until CDC officials did a second test to confirm).
Cases identified last Sunday, March, 15, 2020:
20 positive cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This brings the state total of COVID-19 cases to 53.
The cases include:
- Ottawa County, adult female with unknown travel and contact history.
- Kent County, adult male with history of domestic travel
- Kent County, adult male with unknown travel history and unknown contact history.
- Washtenaw County, three adult males, all with a history of international travel.
- Detroit, adult female with unknown travel history.
- Oakland County, adult female with contact with a person with COVID-19.
- Detroit, adult female with contact with a person with COVID-19.
- Macomb County, adult female with unknown travel history.
- Oakland County, male child with contact with a person with COVID-19
- Oakland County, adult male with unknown travel and contact history.
- Wayne County, adult male with unknown travel and contact history.
- Clair County, adult female with contact with a person with COVID-19.
- Macomb County, two adult males with no travel or contact reported.
- Wayne County, adult male with no travel or contact reported.
- Oakland County, adult male with international travel history.
- Oakland County, adult male with no history of travel or contacts.
- Detroit, adult female with no history of travel or contacts.
Cases identified late Saturday, March 14, 2020, include:
- Detroit, adult male with history of domestic travel and contact with someone with a confirmed case.
- Oakland County, adult male with history of domestic travel.
- Oakland County, adult male with unknown travel history.
- Oakland County, adult female with history of contact with someone with a confirmed case.
- Macomb County, adult male with no known travel history and no known contact with someone with a confirmed case.
- Monroe County, adult female with history of domestic travel.
- Wayne County, adult female with unknown travel history and no known contact with someone with a confirmed case.
- Washtenaw County, adult female with history of contact with symptomatic person who had international travel history.
On Friday, four people were added to the list:
- An adult female from Detroit with unknown travel history.
- An adult male from Washtenaw County with history of international travel.
- An adult female from Wayne County with history of contact with a confirmed case.
- An adult male. No additional information is available on this case at this time. Updated information will be provided as it is available.
Cases announced earlier last week include three Kent County residents and one in Montcalm County, all of whom had international travel exposure.
COVID-19 symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure to the virus.
They include:
- Fever
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
For a virtual screening, call one of the many helpful hotlines offered by area hospitals, at https://whtc.com/news/articles/2020/mar/14/covid-19-helpful-hotlines/994695/.
This is a rapidly evolving situation. Updates will be posted to Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.
