Michigan Surpasses 15,000 Coronavirus Deaths Thursday

MICHIGAN — Michigan has surpassed 15,000 deaths attributed to the coronavirus, state health officials said Thursday.

The state reported 75 COVID-19 deaths Thursday, increasing the coronavirus death toll in Michigan to 15,052, according to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services data. Officials said 55 of the COVID-19 deaths reported Thursday were identified through a vital records review and occurred previously.

Michigan also added 1,284 new cases of the coronavirus Thursday, bringing the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state to 572,179.

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Michigan added 915 new COVID-19 cases and 12 more COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, which has been the second consecutive day the state had reported fewer than 1,000 new cases. More than 498,000 people in Michigan have recovered from the coronavirus, state health officials said Saturday.

Despite surpassing 15,000 COVID-19 deaths Thursday, Michigan has seen a drop in both new coronavirus cases as well as COVID-19 deaths in recent weeks, according to data recently released by the White House COVID-19 team.

According to that data, Michigan saw a 21 percent drop in new COVID-19 cases reported per 100,000 residents (109) during the week of Jan. 30 to Feb. 5 from the week before.

During that same time frame, the state saw a 26 percent decrease in COVID-19 deaths reported for every 100,000 residents (3.4).

Meanwhile, Michigan officials continue to combat the spread of a faster-spreading variant of the coronavirus, B.1.1.7. Late Wednesday, officials reported that the first case of B.1.1.7, which is also known as the U.K. coronavirus variant, had been confirmed at a Michigan prison facility.

MDOC officials on Thursday told Patch an employee at the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia had tested positive for the U.K. variant of the coronavirus.

"The MDOC will be taking extra steps to identify where this variant is present amongst staff and the prisoner population and we will continue to do everything we can to keep the prisoners, our staff and the community safe," MDOC Director Heidi Washington said in a statement.