Oakland County Residents Urged To Mask Up Due To COVID-19 Surge

OAKLAND COUNTY, MI — Following a recent surge in confirmed coronavirus cases throughout Oakland County, local health officials are reminding residents — both vaccinated and unvaccinated — to wear masks and continue to social distance.

Oakland County is seeing an uptick in confirmed cases. Its seven-day average is 78 cases per day as of Aug. 4, county health officials said.

“With COVID-19 variants in the community, vaccination continues to be the most effective way of stopping the spread of the virus,” Oakland County Medical Director Dr. Russell Faust said. “In light of the recent rise in COVID-19 cases, which include the delta variant, we agree with the recommendation by the Centers for Disease to Control for all Oakland County residents to wear masks and socially distance in public indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status.”

While officials said 70.6 percent of Oakland County residents age 16 and older have received at least their first dose, over 85 percent of the recent rise in cases in Oakland County has been among residents younger than 60, a group that has not reached 70 percent vaccine coverage.

Meanwhile, only one in seven of the recent COVID-19 cases is above the age of 60, a group whose vaccination coverage far exceeds 70 percent, the county said.

Oakland County Health Division continues to host pop-up COVID-19 vaccine clinics in communities throughout Oakland County, including:

• Best Western Premier Hotel in Southfield on Aug. 19, Aug. 31, Sept. 16, and Sept. 29
• Emergency Management Day in Pontiac on Aug. 11
• Carnival Market in Pontiac on Aug. 11
• Oak Park Schools Aug. 16 and Aug. 18
• Berkley CruiseFest in Berkley on Aug. 20
• Believers Community Outreach Back to School Event in Pontiac Aug.t 28
• Carnival Market in Pontiac on Aug. 31
• Berkley Art Bash in Berkley on Sept. 11

In addition, the county's health division will be administering doses on the campuses of Lawrence Tech and Oakland universities, Walsh College, Oakland Community College, Baker College and Rochester University.

All these locations will take walk-up appointments. For more information on these community and event-based COVID-19 vaccination clinics, go to OaklandCountyVaccine.com. Those who do not have access to the Internet may call the Nurse on Call at 800-848-5533 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. for more information.

Residents can also use Michigan's COVID-19 vaccine finder to locate a convenient provider.

The following is an update on progress vaccinating Oakland County residents, according to the State of Michigan COVID-19 vaccine dashboard as of Aug. 3, 2021:

Total eligible residents 16 and older: 1,029,737

• Number of residents 16 and older necessary to reach 70 percent coverage: 720,816
• Number of residents 16 and older who have received first dose: 727,263
• Number of residents 16 and older who have completed vaccination: 676,452
• Vaccine coverage for residents 16 and older: 70.6 percent

Total eligible residents 12 and older: 1,091,389

• Number of residents 12 and older who have received first dose: 756,017
• Number of residents 12 years and older who have completed vaccination: 701,275
• Vaccine coverage for residents 12 and older: 69.3 percent

Total eligible senior residents 65 and older: 217,676

• Number of senior residents who have received first dose: 185,173
• Number of senior residents who have completed vaccination: 177,170
• Vaccine coverage for senior residents: 85.1 percent

Total doses distributed within Oakland County: 1,392,215

• Total doses administered within Oakland County: 1,406,891
• Percentage of doses administered within Oakland County: N/A