More than a dozen Michigan counties are experiencing very low levels of coronavirus, based on infection rates for the past seven days ending Aug. 13.
Twelve are in the “green” zone, based on a metric developed by the Harvard Global Health Initiative to measure the coronavirus risk level. The metric looks at a seven-day average of new cases per 100,000 residents, and green coding means the county is averaging less than one new case per capita.
The 12 counties: Ionia, Missaukee, Ogemaw, Antrim, Osceola, Wexford, Oscoda and Montmorency in the Lower Peninsula, and Houghton, Baraga, Schoolcraft and Keweenaw in the Upper Peninsula.
Baraga, Keweenaw, Schoolcraft, Oscoda, Montmorency and Wexford reported no new cases in the past week. The others had one or two.
In addition, Alcona and Mackinac counties each had only one new case of coronavirus in the past week, but that was enough to put them just above the average of 1 new case per 100,000 residents for the week.
At the other end of the spectrum, Ontonagon County in the western Upper Peninsula is now coded red, which the Harvard institute defines as a region that should lock down.
The home of Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park and Michigan’s second least-population county, Ontonagon has reported 12 new cases of coronavirus among its residents in the past seven days.
Upper Peninsula’s coronavirus numbers have more than doubled in past four weeks
Coded orange as of Thursday: Macomb, Saginaw and Bay counties in the Lower Peninsula and Gogebic, Menonimee and Alger counties in the U.P.
Sixty-four counties are yellow, using the Harvard institute’s formula.
On the map below, readers can put their cursor over a county to see the underlying data. If you can’t see the map, click here.
Red indicates a county should lock down, according to Harvard’s metrics. Orange indicates counties should consider stay-at-home orders and/or “rigorous test and trace programs,” the Harvard institute says. Yellow indicates a need for “rigorous” testing and tracing. Counties in green are “on track for containment,” the Harvard institute says. The map is updated daily, Monday through Friday.
Latest on coronavirus testing
Three Michigan counties have a positive rate of at least 5% in coronavirus tests reported in the last seven days ending Aug. 12. The state administered an average of an average of 28,959 tests a day between Aug. 6-12.
Macomb had the highest seven-day average at 7.4%. The other two counties: Ontonagon (6.7%) and Hillsdale (6%). Note: The number of positive tests does not match confirmed cases because a single patient may be tested multiple times.
A rate of 5% or more indicates the county may not be testing enough and/or the virus could be on the upswing in that community.
The map below shows the seven-day average testing rate by county. Once again, readers can put their cursor over a county to see the underlying data. If you can’t see the map, click here.
Below are online databases that allow readers to look up county-level data for each of the last 20 days.
Cases by day it was reported to the state
First is a chart showing new cases reported to the state each day for the past 20 days. This is based on when a confirmed coronavirus test is reported to the state, which means the patient first became sick days before.
You can call up a chart for any county, and you can put your cursor over a bar to see the date and number of cases.
Can’t see the chart? Click here.
(In a few instances, a county reported a negative number (decline) in daily new cases, following a retroactive reclassification by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. In those instances, we subtracted cases from the prior date and put 0 in the reported date.)
Cases by day of onset of symptoms
Below this chart shows new cases for the past 20 days based on onset of symptoms. In this chart, numbers for the most recent days are incomplete because of the lag time between people getting sick and getting a confirmed coronavirus test result, which can take up to a week or more.
You can call up a chart for any county, and you can put your cursor over a bar to see the date and number of cases. (Can’t see the chart? Click here)
More localized maps
Below are two maps created by the EpiBayes research group at University of Michigan’s Department of Epidemiology, which has access to sub-county data collected by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The interactive maps break down the state into 10 kilometer hexogons to provide more a more localized look at where coronavirus cases are occurring. You can click here to get to the research project website.
The first map looks at confirmed and probable coronavirus cases in the past week. You can click on a hexagon to see the underlying data.
You can use the triangle button at the upper right of the map to toggle to the second map, which shows total confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Latest daily report
On Thursday, the state reported 1,121 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 16 deaths.
Michigan reports 1,121 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, Aug. 13, highest number since May 14
The state’s seven-day average for new cases is 709 and the seven-day average for deaths is six.
The map below shows total confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths since the start of the pandemic. You can put your cursor over a county to see the underlying numbers.
For more statewide data, visit MLive’s coronavirus data page, here. To find a testing site near you, check out the state’s online test finder, here, send an email to COVID19@michigan.gov, or call 888-535-6136 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS:
In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.
Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.
Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued executive orders requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nosewhile in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces. See an explanation of what that means here.
Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.
For more data on COVID-19 in Michigan, visit https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/.
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