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Michigan sets new record with 3,338 additional cases of COVID-19, 35 deaths

Highest single-day increase since Oct. 15
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Posted at 3:01 PM, Oct 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-24 15:27:55-04

(WXYZ) — There are 158,026 total cases of COVID-19 and 7,182 deaths in Michigan, the state reported Saturday.

That's up 3,338 cases and 35 deaths from the day before, setting a new record for the highest single-day jump since Oct. 15's 2,030 coronavirus case increase.

As of Oct. 17, 109,539 people have recovered from the virus, according to state health officials.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) released the following statement regarding the report of more than 3,300 positive test results:

“The data shows we are continuing to see alarming increases in the incidence of COVID-19 infections in Michigan, “said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. “It is now more important than ever that people take this seriously. Wear a mask every time you are going to be around someone outside of your own household. Avoid large gatherings and maintain a safe distance from others. If rates continue like this, we risk overwhelming our hospitals and having many more Michiganders die.”

The MDHHS also stated that "while the data represents the date that the information was delivered to MDHHS from reporting labs, it does represent more current trends in disease occurrence. In fact, more than 96% of the test results being reported today originated from specimens that were collected from individuals in the past five days."

Governor Gretchen Whitmer took to Twitter Saturday to remind residents to consider their fellow Michigander and "to do the right thing."

According to the MDHHS, officials continue to see clusters of illness associated with facilities, programs and schools. The cases, along with a large number of community-acquired cases, have been contributing to the increase in reports of confirmed COVID-19 infection.

In a press conference Wednesday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer said the current peak of daily COVID-19 cases is higher than what the state saw in April.

Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said the case rate is 80 percent more than one month ago. The percentage of positive tests is 4.9%, which represents community spread across the state.

Dr. Khaldun said all regions of the state have seen an increase in hospitalizations over the past three weeks.

Additional Coronavirus information and resources:

Click here for a page with resources including a COVID-19 overview from the CDC, details on cases in Michigan, a timeline of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's orders since the outbreak, coronavirus' impact on Southeast Michigan, and links to more information from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC and the WHO.

View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.

See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.

Visit our The Rebound Detroit, a place where we are working to help people impacted financially from the coronavirus. We have all the information on everything available to help you through this crisis and how to access it.