Michigan reports 3,168 new COVID-19 cases, 11 new deaths on Friday

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - On Friday, October 30, 2020, the state of Michigan announced 3,168 new cases of COVID-19 and 11 more deaths linked to the virus.

The totals in the state since the start of the pandemic are now at 174,388 cases and 7,309 deaths.

The state said on Thursday that a statewide network connectivity issue delayed the day's data pull past the 10 a.m. cutoff, which resulted in some cases that would have normally been counted in Friday's totals to be included in Thursday.

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

On Thursday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) tightened restrictions on indoor gatherings and shifted the Traverse City region backward in the state's reopening plan in efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. Restaurants, beginning Monday, Nov. 2, are now also required to keep customers' names and phone numbers for contact tracing efforts. You can read more about that here.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke last week in her first COVID-19 press conference in more than a month. She said since the Supreme Court struck down her executive orders, the state has seen a steady rise of COVID cases and hospitalizations. She said the state is now at our peak when it comes to daily new cases, and that the peak is higher than what we saw in April.

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun also spoke at the press conference and gave more context to the daily case rates in regions across the state.

DAILY CASE RATES

Overall, the case rate in Michigan is 131 cases per million people per day, which Dr. Khaldun said is over 80% more than the daily case rate was just one month ago.

The Upper Peninsula is currently seeing 337 cases per million people per day.

The Kalamazoo region is currently seeing 221 cases per million people per day.

The Grand Rapids region is currently seeing 155 cases per million people per day.

The Detroit, Saginaw, Lansing and Jackson regions all have more than 70 but less than 150 cases per million people per day.

The Traverse City region continues to have the lowest case rate, with 62 cases per million people per day.

Information from Gov. Whitmer's 10/21 news conference

PERCENT POSITIVE RATE

In Michigan, an average of more than 35,000 tests are being conducted daily in the state right now with an overall percent positive rate of 4.9%.

Dr. Khaldun says that high of a percent positive rate indicates community spread is happening. She has previously stated that a percent positivity rate of 3% and below indicates community spread is not happening.

The Upper Peninsula is currently seeing a percent positive rate of 9.3%.

The Kalamazoo region is currently seeing a percent positive rate of 6.7%.

The Grand Rapids region is currently seeing a percent positive rate of 4.6%.

The Detroit, Saginaw, Lansing and Jackson regions all have percent positive rates between 2.6% and 4.4%.

The percent positive rate in Traverse City is hovering around 3%.

Information from Gov. Whitmer's 10/21 news conference

HOSPITALIZATION AND DEATH RATES

Dr. Khaldun said all regions are seeing an increase in hospitalizations.

She said on average, 8% of all hospitalizations right now across Michigan are for COVID-19 - and that 58% of the hospitalizations are outside of southeast Michigan, where the greatest bed capacity is in the state.

Deaths are also slowly increasing. Dr. Khaldun said the 7-day average a month ago was nine deaths per day. As of Oct. 18, she said that 7-day average has now risen to 15 deaths per day.

Information from Gov. Whitmer's 10/21 news conference

OUTBREAKS

Dr. Khaldun said on Oct. 21 that local health departments are beginning to see outbreaks in religious settings. But, overall, the most common settings for outbreaks continue to be long-term care facilities, educational settings and social gatherings.

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.

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.

Talking with the health department helps track where others may have been exposed to the virus.

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.

PREVIOUS DAILY COVID-19 CASE COUNTS AND DEATHS

Thursday, October 29 - 3,675 cases, 41 deaths (22 identified through vital records review)
Wednesday, October 28 - 3,271 cases, 18 deaths
Tuesday, October 27 - 2,367 cases, 28 deaths (8 identified through vital records review)
Monday, October 26 - 3,881 cases, 29 deaths over two days as the state no longer reports cases on Sundays
Saturday, October 24 - 3,338 cases, 35 deaths
Friday, October 23 - 1,826 cases, 18 deaths
Thursday, October 22 - 1,873 cases, 43 deaths (31 identified through vital records review)
Wednesday, October 21 - 1,597 cases, 33 deaths
Tuesday, October 20 - 1,586 cases, 22 deaths (1 identified through vital records review)
Monday, October 19 - 2,909 cases, 21 deaths over two days as the state no longer reports cases on Sundays
Saturday, October 17 - 1,791 cases, 23 deaths
Friday, October 16 - 2,015 cases, 14 deaths
Thursday, October 15 - 2,030 cases in largest single-day report ever, later attributed to a "system slowdown"; 32 deaths (21 identified through vital records review)
Wednesday, October 14 - 1,359 cases, 13 deaths
Tuesday, October 13 - 1,237 cases, 30 deaths (10 identified during a Vital Records review)
Monday, October 12 - 1,809 cases, 7 deaths announced over two days as the state no longer reports cases on Sundays
Saturday, October 10 - 1,522 cases, 15 deaths (10 deaths identified during a Vital Records review)
Friday, October 9 - 1,095 cases, 7 deaths
Thursday, October 8 - 1,197 cases, 22 deaths (20 identified through vital records review)
Wednesday, October 7 - 1,016 cases, 9 deaths
Tuesday, October 6 - 908 cases, 22 deaths (7 identified through vital records review)
Monday, October 5 - 1,407 cases, 15 deaths
Saturday, October 3 - 1,158 cases, 13 deaths
Friday, October 2 - 780 cases, 7 deaths
Thursday, October 1 - 891 cases, 19 deaths
Wednesday, September 30 - 1,054 cases, 11 deaths
Tuesday, September 29 - 898 cases, 20 deaths (4 identified through vital records review)