COVID-19 on the rise in Michigan as CDC warns some counties are high-risk
As we near the end of spring, the COVID-19 situation in Ontario seems to be improving. But those considering crossing the border to Michigan should keep in mind the pandemic seems to be going the opposite way in the state.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now lists Michigan as being in the high-risk range for spread of the virus, and is recommending people take precautions like mask wearing.
General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis said on Sunday they are reinstating a requirement that employees wear masks in southeastern Michigan where there are high levels of COVID-19.
"The number of cases that are being reported is less than we had seen in January, with the first Omicron wave," said Dr. Laraine Washer, medical director of infection control for University of Michigan Health.
"It's probably somewhere of about 25 per cent of the number of cases, but we have to keep in mind that many of the cases these days are not being reported to public health, because people are testing themselves at home."
Washer said cases are up because the latest sub-variant is so contagious, and people are having much more contact with one another.
"We've had a lot of behavioural changes coming out of two years of really socially distancing and wearing masks, and now, in Michigan at least, there's much less mask wearing," she said.
"There's more interaction, and so more opportunity for a highly contagious subvariant to spread, and then lastly, I'll say that with these subvariants, reinfection is possible."
Meanwhile, Ontario is reporting Tuesday 1,345 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and 11 more deaths linked to the virus, marking a significant jump from the day before.
Tuesday's hospitalizations are up from 1,122 on Monday but down from 1,555 exactly one week ago.
Of those in hospital, 165 patients require intensive care, six more than the day before, the province says. Seventy-seven patients require the help of a ventilator to breathe.
The province is reporting at least 1,028 new COVID-19 cases through limited PCR testing, with 12,233 tests completed the day before. Due to testing limitations, the actual number of daily new cases is likely far higher than the figure reported, officials have said.
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