YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Washtenaw County Health Department is providing data on probable cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) within Washtenaw County.
Cases are deemed probable if they have been directly linked to a confirmed case, a person has shown signs of COVID-19 and has not been tested.
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A confirmed case is an individual who has received a laboratory-confirmed positive test result.
On Friday, the Washtenaw County Health Department released its first set of probable case data. It has been tracking probable cases since March 21 in order to get a more complete picture of how the virus has spread within the county.
The department has been using contact tracing to identify probable cases by interviewing and documenting the whereabouts of individuals with confirmed cases as well as who they have been in close contact with.
Probable cases are reported with confirmed cases of COVID-19.
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From March 11 to April 24, there have been 974 laboratory-confirmed cases and 213 probable cases in Washtenaw County residents, according to interactive maps through the Washtenaw County Health Department website.
“Testing remains a challenge,” said Washtenaw County Health Officer Jimena Loveluck, in a press release. “We know confirmed cases can’t yet give us a complete picture of what’s happening locally, and we’re doing everything we can to understand the impact of COVID-19 more fully in Washtenaw County.”
Testing for COVID-19 remains limited to individuals who fit criteria by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Through its press release, the Washtenaw County Health Department urged community members to follow social distancing guidelines, wear masks or cloth face coverings when in public, wash their hands frequently and only leave their homes for essential trips.
Data for laboratory-confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Washtenaw County can be found here. Data is broken down by age group, sex, race and zip code.