LANSING, Mich. — Michigan's top doctor said during Friday's press briefing that state health officials are keeping an eye on West Michigan as the rate of COVID-19 cases continue to increase.
Most of the state's coronavirus cases have been confirmed in southeast Michigan, however Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said that rate is slowing down, while it increases in West Michigan.
"Compared to last week, we had a 48% rise in cases in Kent County, 41% in Muskegon County and 23% in Ottawa County," said Khaldun.
Testing has also increased in these areas, and Khaldun said it should be expected that as testing increases, so will the number of confirmed cases.
"We're going to find more disease and that is definitely what we want. Knowing where the disease is is how we will help to stop the spread," said Khaldun. "We also know that in this area of the state, 10 to 20% of the tests done are coming back positive and ICU bed utilization is about 70%."
As of Friday, Kent County reported 1,600 cases and 36 deaths, Ottawa County reported 254 cases and 11 deaths, and Muskegon County reported 288 cases and 11 deaths, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Kent County reported its highest daily case count on Tuesday, April 28.
"We are going to continue to watch this region of the state, and we'll be working closely with our local health departments to identify any pockets of outbreaks," said Khaldun.
In Kent County, the health department has been targeting testing on vulnerable populations like long term care facilities and people experiencing homelessness.
Khaldun also said that the West Michigan region has seen some clusters of the disease in workplaces, which is another reason why there has been a rise in cases.
"There are a couple of workplaces, so food processing facilities, that have some outbreaks there and we think that in some places it's actually spread into the community as well," said Khaldun.
While the West Michigan region is reporting an increase in cases, the fatality rate for the three counties is nearly 3%, which is lower than the state's 9%.
Watch the full briefing here:
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