Michigan reported 1,601 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, Jan. 23, continuing a downward trend in daily case numbers.
The new cases were the lowest daily total since October 21, when new cases registered 1,597.
Officials at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Saturday reported 221 deaths from coronavirus, but said 205 were added late by a routine review of death certificates in the state.
The declining numbers occur when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday that restaurants and bars could reopen for personalized meals on Monday, February 1st. Institutions are under a 25 percent capacity limit and must close at 10 p.m.
The percentage of positive cases increased to 5.84 percent on Friday, based on 49,830 tests. However, as recently as January 5, the rate was higher than 10 percent and the trend continues in a downward direction.
Earlier in the pandemic, state health leaders quoted a “positivity” of 3 percent or lower, indicating that the spread of COVID-19 is under control.
Michigan reports coronavirus recovery once a week and data for Friday show that 463,106 people have recovered since the start of the pandemic in March.
Since March 2020, the state has recorded a total of 548,069 COVID-19 cases and 14,291 deaths.
The latest hospital data shows 1823 people in Michigan hospitals with a suspected or confirmed COVID-19, with 396 in intensive care units. Just over a week ago, there were 2222 patients with coronavirus, with 493 in the intensive care unit.
Saturday was the fourth time since January 12 that new daily cases fell below 2,000.
As of Friday, the seven-day average for daily COVID-19 cases was 1,838.
Visit MLive’s coronavirus database here for more information across the country.
To find a test site in your area, visit the state’s online test finder here. Send an email to [email protected], or call 088-535-6136 between 8am and 5pm on weekdays.
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