Michigan announces 838 new COVID-19 cases, 8 deaths on Saturday

(FOX 2) - On Saturday, Sept 5, 2020, the state of Michigan announced there were 838 new cases of COVID-19 and 8 new deaths related to the virus. The deaths announced today include 3 deaths identified during a Vital Records review.

According to the state's total count, that brings the total cases since the first confirmed case to 106,215 with 6,534 deaths linked to the virus. You can see recent daily case numbers and death updates below.

In other coronavirus news across the state, Gov. Whitmer made two big announcements Thursday, Sept. 3: gyms can start reopening Sept. 9 and that organized sports can resume - both with strict safety measures intact.

Earlier in the week, Gov. Whitmer held a news conference in which she announced the launch of a partnership to begin neighborhood testing sites, as well as a $5 billion commitment from Huntington Bank to boost small business support, social equity, economic inclusion and affordable housing in Michigan.

Earlier this week, the state also said it will no longer be announcing new cases and deaths on Sundays, citing erratic data and lower testing being conducted on weekends. Instead, Sunday's data will be rolled into Monday's reports.

Meanwhile, Michigan's chief medical executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun also spoke at the news conference this week and gave context to the state of the pandemic in Michigan right now.

CASES PER MILLION PEOPLE PER DAY

Overall, Michigan is seeing an average of 59 cases per million people per day.

The Detroit region is still seeing the highest cases and currently has 66 cases per million people per day but that rate is continuing to decrease.

The Traverse City region and Upper Peninsula both have over 40 cases per million people per day and health officials are watching both areas closely. The Traverse City region has seen an increase over the past three weeks and both regions continue to have cases higher than they did a few months ago.

The Grand Rapids region has seen a recent increase in case rate and is at 59 cases per million people per day. Its percent positive rate has also increased.

The Saginaw region is at 56 cases per million people per day but has been trending downward.

The Kalamazoo region is at 50 cases per million people per day and has been increasing.

The Jackson and Lansing regions are both under 40 cases per million people per day and have been declining.

Information from Gov. Whitmer's 9/2 news conference

TESTING AND PERCENT POSITIVE

Testing continues to look good. Dr. Khaldun said Michigan is testing more than 30,000 people per day, which is more than 2% of our state's population every week.

She also said last week Michigan ranked 5th in the country for the number of daily tests.

She said the percent positive overall in Michigan has decreased to 3.1% from 3.3% the week prior.

The goal is to get the percent positive below 3%, which would indicate community spread is not happening.

Information from Gov. Whitmer's 9/2 news conference

OUTBREAKS

Over the past week, local health departments have identified 93 new outbreaks.

Michigan officials are now also beginning to work with local health departments to be able to identify and publicize outbreaks at schools. Dr. Khaldun said that information is expected to begin being available in mid-September.

Information from Gov. Whitmer's 9/2 news conference

CONTACT TRACING

Authorities are still urging everyone to answer their phones if you get a call from the health department. Text messages are also now being sent in advance of the incoming call.

Talking with the health department helps track where others may have been exposed to the virus.

Meanwhile, everyone is also still reminded to keep doing the basics to stay healthy - wear a mask, wash your hands and keep your distance from other people.

PREVIOUS DAILY COVID-19 CASE COUNTS AND DEATHS

Friday, September 4 - 982, 7 deaths
Thursday, September 3 - 685 cases, 10 deaths (9 identified during a routine records review)
Wednesday, September 2 - 524 cases, 14 deaths
Tuesday, September 1 - 718 cases, 15 deaths (8 were part of a vital records review,)
Monday, August 31 - 451 cases, 7 deaths
Sunday, August 30 - 539 cases, 6 deaths
Saturday, August 29 - 799 cases, 21 deaths (7 identified during a vital records review)
Friday, August 28 - 741 cases, 6 new deaths; total cases surpassed 100,000
Thursday, August 27 - 758 cases, 16 deaths (15 from vital records review)
Wednesday, August 26 - 761 cases, 7 deaths
Tuesday, August 25 - 779 cases, 20 deaths (6 from vital records review)
Monday, August 24 - 868 cases, 4 deaths
Sunday, August 23 - 768 cases, 4 deaths
Saturday, August 22 - 953 cases, 11 deaths (8 from vital records review)
Friday, August 21 - 374 cases, 10 deaths (cases announced three hours later than normal, is less than expected due to a recent issue with the reporting of electronic lab results)
Thursday, August 20 - 419 cases, 19 deaths (11 from vital records review)
Wednesday, August 19 - 616 cases and 9 deaths
Tuesday, August 18 - 477 cases and 15 deaths (7 from vital records review)
Monday, August 17 - 465 cases and one death
Sunday, August 16 - 565 cases and six deaths
Saturday, August 15 - 1,015 cases and 18 deaths (14 from vital records review)
Friday, August 14 - 748 cases and 11 deaths
Thursday, August 13 - 1,121 cases and 16 deaths
Wednesday, August 12 - 517 cases, nine deaths
Tuesday, August 11 - 796 cases, seven deaths (two from vital records review)
Monday, August 10 - 557 cases, eight deaths
Sunday, August 9 - 514 cases, two deaths (The cumulative death total was been reduced by one today. Two additional deaths were reported today and three cases previously marked as deceased were corrected by local health jurisdictions.)
Saturday, August 8 - 698 cases, three deaths
Friday, August 7 - 762 cases, 0 deaths
Thursday, August 6 - 722 cases, 26 deaths (17 from vital records review)
Wednesday, August 5 - 657 cases, two deaths
Tuesday, August 4 - 664 cases, eight deaths (five identified during a vital records review)
Monday, August 3 - 604 cases, six deaths
Sunday, August 2 - 426 cases, zero deaths