Hackel: Macomb County Won't Seek Extension Of State Of Emergency

MACOMB COUNTY, MI — Unless there is a reversal in the trend lines, Macomb County will not seek to extend its state of emergency declaration, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel announced Tuesday. The emergency status is set to expire June 26.

“Everyone in the community has worked extremely hard to flatten the curve of this pandemic,” Hackel said. “It has been an exemplary response. But we have to remember that flattening the curve does not mean that the virus has gone away. Safeguards must remain in place in order to avoid a second wave.”

The seven-day average of reported cases of the coronavirus peaked in Macomb County during the first week of April, when 46 percent of residents tested showed positive results, county officials said Tuesday. That average has since dropped to 2.8 percent.

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Through June 5, the county experienced 6,853 cases of the coronavirus, with 827 deaths, the county said. The county has experienced an average of five or fewer deaths per day during the past three weeks.

“This pandemic has been a generational tragedy,” Hackel said. “But it has also produced countless heroes. From health care professionals and first responders, to parents educating their children and citizens strictly following public health orders, there is plenty of credit to go around.”

Statewide averages for coronavirus cases reported daily have been down in recent weeks. As of Monday, Michigan had reported nearly 59,000 cases of the coronavirus, with more than 5,500 deaths attributed to the virus.