The COVID-19 trend in Michigan has been heading in the wrong direction, but it’s not too late to get the curve back down. So says Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan’s chief medical executive. Speaking at a Thursday conference, Khaldun said cases have been going up by varying rates in different regions.
“The Grand Rapids region has had three weeks of increasing rates of cases, and they now have 45 cases per million people per day, the highest of any region in the state,” Khaldun said.
Khaldun said the higher numbers are not just because more tests are being done.
“The percent of tests done that are coming back positive has also slowly increased, from 2 to 3%, and what this implies is that we are also seeing increases in cases because there is true spread of the disease.”
Khaldun said while deaths have been down, those typically come a few weeks after cases have been identified. She also noted the state now has 10,000 volunteer contact tracers, but the biggest problem they run into are people who don’t answer their phones when called. Khaldun said if you do get a call from a state or local contact tracer, it’s important you answer and follow the steps they recommend.
