Michigan Reports Over 400 New Coronavirus Cases, 9 New Deaths

MICHIGAN — State of Michigan health officials on Thursday reported more than 400 new cases of the coronavirus as the state continues to see high numbers of new cases.

Michigan officials reported 446 new cases of the respiratory virus, bringing the statewide case total as of 10 a.m. Thursday to 67,683.

The state also reported an additional nine deaths attributed to the virus, increasing the state's coronavirus death toll to 6,024.

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Thursday's coronavirus update comes after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a news conference urged residents to wear masks when in public.

"Over the past week, we have seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases in Michigan, and over the holiday weekend we saw countless Michiganders gather in large groups to celebrate the Fourth of July without a mask," Whitmer said. "I want to be very clear. Right now, the law requires that anyone in an enclosed public space has to wear a mask, and that means every store you're going into."

The governor told residents that "we cannot let out guard down" and cautioned against joining states such as Florida and Texas, which have seen new daily coronavirus numbers in the thousands.

Related: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer To Michiganders: 'Please Mask Up'

The total number of coronavirus cases in Florida rose to 213,794 earlier this week. Texas on Tuesday crossed the 10,000 mark in terms of new cases of the coronavirus, shattering the previous record by more than 2,000.

During her news conference Thursday, Whitmer said Michiganders need to do their part to prevent Michigan from putting up similar numbers. Whitmer said wearing a mask reduces the chance of spreading the coronavirus by about 70 percent.

"It took less than two weeks for Florida to go from 100,000 to 200,000 positive cases, and the cases there are still climbing," she said. "That can happen very quickly anywhere in this country if we drop our guard statewide."

Earlier in the week, Whitmer said in a live radio interview that she will likely have to extend Michigan's state of emergency — which is set to expire July 16 — until the number of new cases across the nation comes down.

The state of emergency should not be confused with the statewide stay-home order, which was lifted in June.

Related: Gov. Whitmer Hints At Extending Michigan State Of Emergency

Michigan reported 610 new cases on Wednesday, the highest single-day total it had reported since May. The state has only reported fewer than 300 new cases of the coronavirus twice since the beginning of the month.

Michigan ranks 12th in the U.S. in coronavirus cases, according to data provided by the World Health Organization. The state is seventh in the nation in coronavirus deaths.

In the U.S., which crossed the 3 million case mark on Wednesday, nearly 3.2 million cases have been reported, according to the World Health Organization. More than 135,000 people in the U.S. have died from the virus. Over 1.4 million people have recovered from the virus.

Across the globe, more than 12 million cases of the coronavirus have been reported, according to the World Health Organization. Of those, over 554,000 people have died from the virus, and more than 7.1 million have recovered.

Read More: New Directive Aims To Improve Equity Across Michigan Health Care