Michigan COVID-19 cases climb to 30,000 with 2,220 deaths

Lansing — The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Michigan exceeded 30,000 Friday with 2,227 deaths, but the number of new cases revealed in the daily report was the second lowest total in 22 days.

The state now has 30,023 cases, according to data released by the Department of Health and Human Services. The new numbers included 134 new deaths and 760 new cases.

Since March 26, only Sunday's report of 645 new cases brought a lower total of new daily cases.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said during a Detroit Regional Chamber teleconference Friday that the state's stay-at-home order has had an impact and officials have started to see the curve of cases flatten.

Officials want to see a "sustained flattening" to feel confident about beginning to lift social distancing restrictions, Whitmer said.

"We don't want to pull back too quickly and watch it grow again," she added. "But there are some very hopeful signs."

Michigan's high mark for new cases confirmed in a 24-hour period came April 3 when 1,943 new cases were reported.

Michigan has the fourth most confirmed cases of all U.S. states and the third most deaths, according to tracking from the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center.

Of Michigan's 83 counties, 76 —  or 91.5% — have at least one confirmed case. The only county in the Lower Peninsula without a case is Benzie County.

Of the state's cases, 77% are in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties. But the percentage of statewide cases in the three counties has dropped from above 86% as cases have grown in other areas of Michigan in the past few weeks.

Friday's new numbers came about eight hours after Whitmer appeared on "Good Morning America" and said she hoped for "some relaxing" of Michigan's stay-at-home restrictions on May 1, when her latest order expires.

"I’ll be able to share a lot more detail about the thought process and our analysis as we go into next week," Whitmer told The Detroit News in an interview.

Later in the day, President Donald Trump tweeted, "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!"He issued similar tweets about Minnesota and Virginia. All three states have Democratic governors and have had protests over the governors' stay-at-home policies.

Through Wednesday, Michigan had reported 102,366 COVID-19 tests happening in the state.

The percentage of those tests coming back positive has dropped in recent days. In the seven-day period ending Wednesday, a daily average of 29% of the tests came back positive, according to the state data. Over the previous seven-day period from April 2 through April 8, 38% tested positive.

As of Friday, the state had reported 433 COVID-19 recoveries, individuals who had the virus and had survived 30 days from the onset of the illness. The state is updating the recovery number once a week.

cmauger@detroitnews.com