Michigan health officials have repeatedly said the positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in the state needs to remain below 3% to show that the spread of the virus is under control.
As of this weekend, the state’s 7-day moving average for COVID tests positivity rate was 13.21%, far higher than where state health officials want it to be. Michigan’s COVID tests positivity rate has not been below 3% since early October.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer noted in an interview with Local 4 that the 3% benchmark will be important in deciding when to lift new COVID restrictions that go into effect this week. Whitmer said the positivity rate will have to fall below 3% during the three-week period of stricter measures to stop the spread before restrictions could be lifted.
On Saturday, Michigan reported 7,072 new COVID-19 cases and 65 additional deaths, bringing the state totals up to 251,813 cases and 7,994 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Michigan reported a single-day record 8,516 new cases Friday.