The latest pandemic milestone in Michigan: The state has now confirmed more than half a million cases of coronavirus.
On Monday the state added 4,992 new confirmed cases, a two-day total covering test results from both Saturday and Sunday.
That brings the total number since the start of the pandemic to 502,119.
The figure means about one in every 20 people in the state has tested positive for COVID-19, but even that number is likely an undercount of the true spread of the virus.
Michigan confirmed its first case of coronavirus nearly 10 months ago, on March 10, 2020. The virus could have been circulating before then, and it’s likely many cases were never documented because of testing shortages early on in the pandemic.
The number of new confirmed each day has been declining in Michigan since about mid-November. The number of people hospitalized because of COVID-19 also continues to decline.
On Monday, the state reported 2,364 people were in the hospital battling coronavirus, a 39% decline since November 30th. The state also reported 514 people in ICUs with the disease caused by the virus, a 36% decline for the same time period.
Monday the state reported an additional 80 deaths from the disease. In total, 12,678 people in Michigan have died from coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, according to the state.
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