Michigan's COVID-19 death toll hits 4,550, but new infections trending down

Lansing — Michigan's COVID-19 death toll reached 4,551 Sunday, but the numbers of hospitalizations and new infections continued to trend downward two months after the state confirmed its first cases of the virus.

On Sunday, the state reported 25 new deaths and 382 new cases, pushing the total number of confirmed cases to 47,138, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Michigan hasn't experienced a day with at least 1,000 new cases since April 29. The state reported its first cases of COVID-19 two months ago on March 10.

The 25 new deaths were the lowest daily total since March 29.

The Sunday numbers came a day after the Department of Health and Human Services updated data on COVID-19 recoveries in Michigan. As of Friday, 22,686 individuals were considered recovered here because they were still alive 30 days after the onset of symptoms. 

The state updates the recovery figure once a week on Saturday. The figure covers through Friday.

As recoveries have grown in Michigan, the percentage of people testing positive for the novel coronavirus and the number of hospitalizations have decreased statewide in recent days.

For the seven-day period ending Friday, Michigan reported the most tests conducted yet: 75,782. Of those, 6,055 or 7.9% were positive, according to state data.

Two weeks earlier, from April 18 through April 24, the state reported 43,113 total tests with 7,157 positives or 16.6%.

As of Friday, Michigan's tracking showed 1,437 COVID-19 inpatients statewide, less than half the 2,889 inpatients reported two weeks earlier on April 24.

Testing results and hospitalizations are two factors that Michigan health officials are watching as they decide when to lift additional restrictions that are meant to stem the spread of the disease.

As of Sunday afternoon, Michigan ranked seventh among all U.S. states for the number of confirmed cases and fourth for the number of deaths linked to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

cmauger@detroitnews.com