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COVID-19 numbers down nationally but still trending higher in Michigan

Illustration of Virus
Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAMS
/
CDC
This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses.

Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail says the Mid-Michigan community could be seeing the arrival of a recurring “season” for COVID-19.

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 are rising again both in Michigan and in Ingham County, contrary to recent national trends.

In Ingham County, COVID-19 cases flattened out in July but have been creeping up since then. The surge of cases around the country earlier this year, meanwhile, has been followed by a decline.

Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail says Michigan has had a comparatively smaller surge that began after the national upswing in cases, but the state's numbers haven’t started going down yet.

“They are showing some signs of plateauing, but plateauing at a higher level than we’d like to see," she said.

Vail added case numbers have started to decline in hard-hit states, but not yet in Michigan.

“That’s largely because places like Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri [or] places that saw these increases in cases long before we did, those are starting to come down, and those were higher numbers than we saw here,” she concluded.

Vail says Michigan might fall into a “season” for this virus, but said, "We haven’t landed on where that’s going to be.”

Scott Pohl is a general assignment news reporter and produces news features and interviews. He is also an alternate local host on NPR's "Morning Edition."
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