LANSING, Mich. – Three of the most important COVID-19 metrics are showing positive signs that Michigan is heading in the right direction, the state’s chief medical executive said.
READ: 9 major takeaways from Whitmer’s COVID-19 briefing on Dec. 15
Recommended Videos
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the chief medical executive of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said the case, hospitalization and positivity rates are all declining.
Michigan is currently at 560 cases per million people, a number that has been trending downward for 22 straight days, Khaldun said. Case rates for all eight geographical regions are on the decline, she said.
Overall, 18.5% of hospital beds in the state have COVID-19 patients in them, which has also declined, according to Khaldun.
The percentage of statewide COVID-19 tests that are coming back positive is down to 12.3%, Khaldun said. That number has been declining for seven straight days.
“That means many Michiganders did their part in keeping the spread of the virus down over the Thanksgiving holiday,” Khaldun said. “We showed that we care about ourselves, our families and our community. Let’s keep doing that.”
She said case rates are still “alarmingly high” overall and the percent positivity is still four times what it was at the start of September.
“Now is not the time to let our guard down,” Khaldun said.
Michigan reported 4,730 new COVID-19 cases and 183 additional deaths (71 from a Vital Records review) on Tuesday, bringing the state totals to 442,715 cases and 10,935 deaths since the start of the pandemic.