How Michigan Is Handling The Pandemic: Weekly Federal Data

MICHIGAN — The rate of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in Michigan from Jan. 23-29 dropped 11 percent from the week prior, but the state saw an uptick in the rate of new COVID-19 deaths during that time, according to data released Sunday by The White House.

In the seven days during that stretch, Michigan reported 13,707 new cases of the coronavirus, according to the White House COVID-19 data. The rate of new cases reported per 100,000 Michigan residents (137) is an 11 percent decrease from the week prior when Michigan had a rate of 154 new cases per 100,000 residents.

Michigan saw a 14 percent uptick in COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 residents in the seven days represented in Sunday's data. Michigan reported 459 COVID-19 deaths during that time, up from 401 the week before that.

The White House COVID-19 Team has compiled weekly reports tracking pandemic growth in each state since the pandemic began. Under the previous administration, those reports were kept private. White House COVID-19 Data Director Cyrus Shahpar confirmed on social media that the data would be shared weekly.

Comparing Michigan's most recent 7-day data to what was released last week shows positive trends, such as the state's rate of new cases, which dropped by 11 percent a week after from 23 percent.

Michigan also saw a small drop in its statewide positivity rate, according to the White House data, going from a 6.3 percent positivity rate to 5.5 percent. Meanwhile, the U.S. has seen an 8.8 percent increase in its positivity rate after posting a more than 10 percent increase the week prior.

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The state has seen quite a significant drop in how many lab tests have been administered. Michigan conducted 2,663 lab tests per 100,000 residents in the seven-day stretch leading up to when the latest data was released, a 5 percent decline from the week prior to that. During that week, the state administered 2,741 tests per 100,000 residents, which was down 13 percent from the week prior to that.

The report also ranks all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, based on their number of new cases per every 100,000 residents. In that ranking, Michigan comes in 47th, meaning just 5 regions have lower case counts.