Michigan reports 2,706 more COVID-19 cases on Saturday and 222 more deaths

(FOX 2) - On Saturday, January 9, 2020, the state of Michigan reported 2,706 more COVID-19 cases and 222 more deaths linked to the virus. The deaths announced today include 207 deaths identified during a Vital Records review.

The totals in the state since the start of the pandemic are now at 519,082 cases and 13,354 deaths.

Over the Christmas holiday, the state reported 7,341 new cases from Dec. 24-26, which makes an average of 2,447 cases per day. The state reported 254 new deaths from Dec. 24-26, which includes 188 from a vital records review.

You can see case rates and deaths from the weeks prior below.

KEY COVID-19 METRICS IMPROVING IN MICHIGAN

As of December 29, the state's medical director Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said health officials are continuing to see improvements in three key COVID-19 metrics in the state.

Case rates in the state have been declining in all regions for 38 days now and is at 279 cases per million people per day. The average case rate in Michigan peaked at 739 cases per million on Nov. 14.

The percent positive rate has been declining in the state for multiple weeks now and is at 8.4%. This rate recently peaked at 14.3% on Dec. 4.

Dr. Khaldun has said a percent positive rate below 3% indicates community spread isn't happening.

Also, the percent of hospital beds being used for COVID-19 patients has also been declining. As of Dec. 29, 13.8% of hospital beds are filled with COVID-19 patients. This peaked at 20.1% on Dec. 1.

Dr. Khaldun did mention that testing is lower than it has been in recent months, and is currently at an average of 37,300 tests per day. At one point, nearly 55,000 tests in Michigan were happening daily on average.

You can find a testing site near you at michigan.gov/coronavirustest.

VACCINE ROLL OUT

Both the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine have received FDA approval and are available in Michigan. Both require two doses to be effective.

Michigan health officials have laid out the prioritization plan for who will be receiving the vaccine. Frontline healthcare workers are the top priority. You can read more about that here.

The vaccine is anticipated to be available to the general population in Michigan in spring 2021.

You can see more about the vaccine status in Michigan on the state's dashboard here. As of December 29, Dr. Khaldun said 71,000 Michiganders have been vaccinated.

Meanwhile, health officials stress everyone still continues wearing their mask, practice social distancing and wash their hands. Even though the vaccines appear to be very effective, more research must still be done to see if people who got the vaccine can spread the virus to other people.

MDHHS LIFTS SOME RESTRICTIONS, EXTENDS OTHERS

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services lifted some of the COVID-19 restrictions that were set in place Nov. 15 in a "pause to save lives" and extending others.

Casinos, movie theaters, bowling alleys and in-person learning at high schools and universities are allowed to reopen and resume.

Other restrictions have been extended through January 15, 2021, meaning indoor dining is still prohibited, night clubs are still closed and organized indoor sports are still barred. Workplaces, when work can be done from home, are also not allowed to reopen yet, and group fitness classes are still not allowed to resume.

You can see a full list of what is and is not open here.

CONTACT TRACING

Dr. Khaldun said on Dec. 1 that contact tracing is at the highest it's been during the pandemic. Healthcare workers are able to do outreach to about 3,000 positive new cases a day - but with several straight weeks of more than 5,000 new cases per day, the system still cannot keep up.

Michigan officials also recently rolled out the MI COVID Alert app to help notify of possible exposure and with contact tracing.

Authorities are still urging everyone to answer their phones if you get a call from the health department. Text messages are also now being sent in advance of the incoming call.

Meanwhile, everyone is also still reminded to keep doing the basics to stay healthy - wear a mask, wash your hands and keep your distance from other people.

SCHOOL OUTBREAKS

On Monday, Sept. 14, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services started tracking outbreaks in schools across the entire state.

Using data from 45 health departments, the updates will be released every Monday at 3 p.m. and will include K-12, college and universities, number of cases, and if the cases involved staff, students, or both. It does not include cases where the virus was contracted from outside of the school.

You can read about the latest outbreak data in schools here.

PREVIOUS DAILY COVID-19 CASE COUNTS AND DEATHS

Saturday, Jan. 2 -8,983 cases, 265 deaths
Wednesday, Dec. 30 - 4,222 cases, 51 deaths
Tuesday, Dec. 29 - 3,414 cases, 193 deaths (105 from vital records review)
Monday, Dec. 28 - 3,239 cases, 60 deaths over two days as the state no longer reposts data on Sundays
Saturday, Dec. 26 - 7,341 cases, 254 deaths (from Dec. 24-26)
Saturday, Dec. 19 - 3,896 cases, 187 deaths (155 from vital records review)
Friday, Dec. 18 - 4,180 cases, 66 deaths
Thursday, Dec. 17 - 4,024 cases, 190 deaths (125 from vital record review)
Wednesday, Dec. 16 - 4,037 cases, 83 deaths
Tuesday, Dec. 15 - 4,730 cases, 183 deaths (71 from vital records review)
Monday, Dec. 14 - 7,205 cases, 90 deaths over two days as the state no longer reposts data on Sundays
Saturday, Dec. 12 - 4,486 cases, 206 deaths (176 from vital records review)
Friday, Dec. 11 - 5,157 cases, 61 deaths
Thursday, Dec. 10 - 5,937 cases, 182 deaths (132 from vital records review)
Wednesday, Dec. 9 - 4,905 cases, 75 deaths
Tuesday, Dec. 8 - 5,909 cases, 191 deaths (79 from vital records review)
Monday, Dec. 7 - 9,350 cases, 93 deaths over two days as the state no longer reports cases on Sundays
Thursday, Dec. 3 - 7,146 new cases, 175 deaths (112 from vital records review)
Wednesday, Dec. 2 - 6,955 new cases, 81 deaths
Tuesday, Dec. 1 - 5,793 cases, 190 deaths (30 deaths from vital records review)
Monday, Nov. 30 - 10,428 cases, 98 deaths over two days as the state no longer reports cases on Sundays
Saturday, Nov. 28 - 8,080 cases, 103 deaths (70 deaths from a vital records review)
Thursday & Friday Nov. 26-27 - 17,162 172 deaths
Wednesday, Nov. 25 - 4,273 cases, 73 deaths
Tuesday, Nov. 24 - 6,290 cases, 145 deaths (51 from vital records review)
Monday, Nov. 23 - 11,511 cases, 65 deaths over two days as the state no longer reports cases on Sundays