LANSING, Michigan (AP) – Michigan, which recently had one of the lowest COVID-19 infection rates in the country, is facing an alarming rise that some experts worry could be a harbinger nationwide.
In what U.S. public health authorities have warned for months that could happen across the country, the resurgence is fueled by loose restrictions., a more infectious variant and pandemic fatigue.
While vaccines in Michigan they help protect the elderly and other vulnerable people; the upswing is increasing hospitalizations of younger adults and forcing them to stop face-to-face instruction in some schools.
“It is a total reminder that this virus is still very real. It can roar again if we let the guard down, ”said Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has no plans to tighten restrictions on indoor dining, sports and other activities that were relaxed in recent months.
Michigan last year experienced some of the country’s fiercest resistance to the closures, including armed demonstrations at the state Capitol and an alleged right-wing plot kidnap the governor.
Whitmer said Thursday at a Michigan Chronicle event that this wave is different from last fall and spring, in part because of the vaccine, which has been given to nearly two-thirds of residents age 65 and older. those most at risk of dying. COVID-19 hospitalizations, despite being higher in recent weeks, remain below the maximum from December.
However, the spread of coronavirus is worrisome at a time when many adults have not yet received any dose.
In the past two weeks, Michigan’s seven-day average of new cases has risen 122%, the biggest change in the U.S. from 1,687 to 3,753, the biggest jump also in gross numbers. The state’s seven-day per capita case rate is the third highest, behind New York and New Jersey. Michigan reported more than 5,200 new cases on Thursday, the highest in more than three months. The mortality rate has been constant.
“It’s very problematic and very troubling,” said Dr. Dawn Misra, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Michigan State University.
He warned that the trend should not be blamed solely on a variant that has been identified more in Michigan than in all states except another, Florida, and noted that lags and disparities in the amount of analysis genetics that is done on the virus in the United States difficult comparisons.
“We are doing many things that lead to an increase in risk. That’s where it comes from, ”said Misra, who urged health officials to emphasize strategies such as double masking.
Nationwide, COVID-19 has killed more than 545,000 people. With the launch of the vaccine, death has dropped to less than 1,000 a day, on average, from a high of 3,400 in mid-January. New cases have also plummeted, but are at a worrying average of more than 57,000 per day, and the trend is reversing in some states.
Michigan will soon require regular testing of all adolescent athletes amid outbreaks that occurred after the suspension of the contact sports ban for months. About 100 teams participate in state men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
And some schools are temporarily closing or delaying long-awaited reopenings.
Lansing School District, which has 10,000 students, planned to resume face-to-face learning for the first time next week, starting with fourth through sixth grade. But the reopening was pushed until April 12, after the spring break, due to the rise in virus cases in the community.
“We went back to where we were right after Christmas with some of our numbers,” Superintendent Sam Sinicropi said Thursday. “I understand the importance of the children being there and the staff being there. But we will make the call for what is happening in our area. “
Keith Elementary School in Walled Lake District suspended face-to-face instruction last week due to sudden unrest.
“It’s one of those things that keeps me awake at night. We see the numbers the same way we would see the stock market, ”Superintendent Ken Gutman said in a YouTube video.
One of Michigan’s largest institutes, Utica Eisenhower, in Macomb County, stopped face-to-face classes Tuesday through April 19, after 40 students tested positive and more than 400 were quarantined.
“It’s definitely been a yo-yo trip,” said Susan Milosavljevic, whose daughter, Natasha, is a minor. “We are not angry with the school. They have been taking every precaution, making sure students wear masks. Unfortunately, there may be some who are positive. “
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White reported from Detroit. AP data journalist Nicky Forster in New York contributed.