Michigan Coronavirus Numbers Up Due To Testing Backlog: State

MICHIGAN — Michigan saw a significant uptick in reported coronavirus cases Thursday, which state health officials said is a result of backlogged test results being recorded and increased testing across the state.

The state reported 1,191 new coronavirus cases Thursday, bringing the statewide total to 49,582. There also were 73 new deaths reported, bringing the statewide death toll to 4,787.

Michigan had not seen more than 1,000 new cases reported in a single day since April 29.

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Coronavirus Numbers Backlog

State numbers are released daily at 3 p.m. but are indicative of what has been reported by 10 a.m. that day.

Numbers are sometimes altered as public health officials investigate individual cases. Case numbers sometimes do not match numbers provided by respective counties due to several variables, including testing done by private organizations that report to either the state or the county but not both.

Deaths are reported by health care providers and recorded by local health departments. Other data, such as the number of individuals who have recovered at the state level, are released on Saturdays.

Thursday's report included cases from commercial labs Garcia, a lab with significant presence in Michigan’s correctional facilities and corporate environment, Orchard Technology and P4, the state said in a news release. Results from those labs were being entered manually, which led to a backlog, and are now being reported electronically into a statewide system.

The backlog in reporting did not result in delays of notification to individuals with positive results as those results were transmitted separately to health care providers who are responsible for notifying individuals about their test results, according to the state.

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Michigan Coronavirus Trends

Below is a breakdown of new coronavirus cases reported in the last 10 days. State health officials have noted in recent weeks that residents can remain cautiously optimistic because the state has seem a plateau in new cases. It is unclear what impact Thursday's reported backlog had on those numbers.

For the first 10 days of May, Michigan averaged just over 478 new confirmed coronavirus cases a day. During the first 10 days of April, the state averaged over 1,516 new cases reported each day.

You can see a breakdown of coronavirus cases reported over the past 10 days in Oakland Countyand Wayne County here.

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Coronavirus Cases in Southeast Michigan

Here is a breakdown of coronavirus cases reported in southeast Michigan. The city of Detroit, which reports separately from Wayne County, leads the state in most total cases and total deaths reported. Wayne County leads all Michigan counties in both categories.

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