Michigan Reports Increasing Number of Omicron ‘Stealth’ Subvariant Cases
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This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC shows the Novel Coronavirus. Photo credit: Alissa Eckert, MSMI, Dan Higgins, MAMS
After consistent trends of COVID-19 cases falling in Michigan, the state is now reporting 2,770 new COVID-19 cases and 50 new deaths over the last two days, which is higher than recent numbers.
The numbers were reported Friday (March 18), averaging around 1,385 cases per day for Thursday and Friday. That makes the total number of cases in Michigan 2,071,587 and the total number of deaths 32,611 since the pandemic started.
The new data and upward trend is likely a result of omicron’s “stealth” subvariant, which is spreading throughout the U.S. According to the CDC, BA.2 currently accounts for about a quarter of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, right now, 99 cases of the subvariant have been confirmed in Michigan.
Even as the COVID-19 numbers are going up, hospitalizations are still decreasing. As of Wednesday (March 16), the number of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 had steadily fallen every day for more than two months.
