New Michigan COVID-19 deaths in May less than half April total – The Detroit News

Lansing — The overall number COVID-19 deaths in Michigan neared 5,500 Sunday, the final day of month. However, the totals of new cases and new deaths in the state in May dropped significantly from April.

In May, the state confirmed 16,018 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 1,702 new deaths. The totals were less than half those for the month of April when the state confirmed 33,764 new cases and 3,530 new  deaths.

The new numbers come after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said on Friday the state could loosen more restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus in the “coming days.”

The state confirmed its first cases on March 10. Whitmer announced her initial stay-at-home order 13 days later on March 23.

“If we continue on the trajectory that we are on, in the coming days, we’ll have additional regions that we’ll be looking to moving forward,” Whitmer said during a press conference Friday. “Everyone wants to know precisely when that’s going to be, and I think that is one of the frustrations that is real. It’s legitimate.”

As of Sunday, overall, Michigan had confirmed 57,397 COVID-19 cases and reported 5,491 deaths linked to the virus, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The state added 513 new cases and 28 new deaths in Sunday’s report.

In May, as testing capacity increased in Michigan, the state had only one day when more than 1,000 new cases were confirmed in a daily report. In April, the state had 18 days when more than 1,000 new cases were confirmed in daily reports.

The numbers of new cases and new deaths continue to trend downward in Michigan. The state hasn’t reported a day with more 100 new deaths since May 19. The state hasn’t reported a day with more than 1,000 new cases since May 14.

As of Friday, 38,099 people in Michigan were considered recovered from COVID-19, meaning they were still alive 30 days after the onset of illness, according to state data.

On Sunday, Michigan ranked eighth nationally for the number of COVID-19 cases and fifth for the number of reported deaths linked to the virus, according to tracking by Johns Hopkins University.

cmauger@detroitnews.com

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