Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Ingham County Health Department issues updates on COVID-19

September 7, 2021
East Lansing High School will transition to remote learning starting April 12 due to the rising COVID-19 cases in the state of Michigan. Shot on April 9, 2021.
East Lansing High School will transition to remote learning starting April 12 due to the rising COVID-19 cases in the state of Michigan. Shot on April 9, 2021.

Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail hosted a Zoom meeting on behalf of the Ingham County Health Department, or ICHD, to speak on the current state of COVID-19 Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.

As of Sept. 7, there are 26,808 cumulative cases, 25,233 of which have recovered — leaving 1,171 active cases in Ingham County in the last 30 days.

The 20-29 age group makes up the largest cumulative percentage of COVID-19 cases, sitting at 28% of cases in the county, and 23% of cases in the last 30 days.

While this college-aged group of carriers is far more likely to recover from COVID-19 — with 1.7% of deaths being those under 40, according to the county data -- they are far more likely to pass off the disease, given in-person classes, sporting events and loose mask mandates in restaurants and bars.

While the upward trend of positive cases and hospitalizations is slight, an increase in cases and hospitalizations leads to an increase in deaths. With 340 new cases in the last week, four Ingham County residents have died from COVID-19 since Aug. 31.

According to the ICHD, 170,207 COVID-19 vaccines have been given by the department since December. Over sixty percent of residents 12 years and older have at least received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, as of today.

Roughly 97.1% of all seniors in Ingham County, or 38,376 people older than 65, have received the vaccine, Vail said.

To achieve the county's goal of 70% of its population vaccinated, 22,119 more Ingham County residents need the shot.

While Ingham County is showing positive results to the adjustments of schools, restaurants and other various businesses opening back up, masks are still highly encouraged in indoor, public spaces, according to the ICHD.

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